


Two Worlds

by HumanizedSerenity



Category: Criminal Minds, Supernatural
Genre: Crossover, M/M, Male Slash, Slow To Update
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-12-29
Updated: 2013-07-16
Packaged: 2017-11-22 21:21:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 27,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/614459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HumanizedSerenity/pseuds/HumanizedSerenity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>His mother, Bobby, Dean, Sam, and Castiel; that was one family. Hotch, Rossi, JJ, Garcia, Emily, and Derek; that was another family. Both with their own enemies and wars to fight. Now all he needs is make sure they never meet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Spencer Reid could remember his first hunt with clarity. Not only because he had an eidetic memory (no, that wasn't the reason, though it certainly did help), but just because you don't forget your first hunt. No words can describe the feeling of facing your first ghost, all logic telling you that creature should not be there, and yet there it is, right in front of you. No, no words could describe it… Though exhilarating may come close to it. But even that is wrong. As a son of a Literature Professor, Reid likes to be precise with his use of words. Exhilaration implies that the experience was joyful. It wasn't unpleasant, but it wasn't joyful either. I mean, the satisfaction of having accomplished his mission certainly made the young genius feel proud, but at the time he was mostly scared.

He was seven years old when it happened. Seven years, 3 months, 19 days, 20 hours, and 12 minutes, to be precise. His father was away to visit his family, who never really liked Diana Reid. Spencer refused to leave his mother home alone, so William Reid went to enjoy his vacation by himself.

Diana had told Spencer about the supernatural before. Besides reading the course material she had prepared for her classes, she would also read him facts about the world unknown to most. By six he knew the names of most creatures, the warning signs to look out for, and how to kill them. Though he learned later on that knowing how to kill werewolves and actually shooting them with a silver bullet are two very different things. Especially considering how silver bullets are less accurate than the typical lead bullet. It's the reason why most Hunters first practice with the former instead of the latter (better have an accurate shot with the one that will really kill the shape shifter, right?)

Either way, Diana had told Spencer all about the Supernatural. Sometimes at night she would go for hunts in Las Vegas, and then she would return right before sunrise, wake up Spencer and tell him all about her adventures. He used to dream about the day he would be able to hunt with her. It would be a way to be closer to his mother, maybe he would be able to understand her mind a little bit more, and eventually find a cure for her illness. Well, that never really happened, but that isn't what our tale is about, is it?

With William away, Diana felt it was finally time for Spencer to go on his first hunt. It was supposed to be a very simple Salt and Burn case; something small. There was this local girl who lost her boyfriend to a car accident where the driver had been drunk. The man was released, and the girl, burning with rage, went to his house with a gun. The two struggled for the weapon, and she ended up dead. The man was again acquitted, innocent since it was self-defense. Now the girl's ghost haunted the area, killing those who had claimed the lives' of others but were declared innocent for one reason or another. It was simple enough. They knew her name and knew where she was buried. That night they packed some rock salt, accelerant, matches, a couple of shovels, and headed out towards the cemetery.

What they didn't expect was for the ghost to fight back. While digging the grave Diana and Spencer heard the cry of a young woman coming from the road on the other side of the wall. Diana, fearing the ghost was about to claim another victim, went to investigate, leaving little Spencer to continue the digging. It took about a minute and twenty-seven seconds for Spencer to hear his own mother's cry, and realize, with a heavy heart, that the ghost had her.

He continued digging, but there is only so much a seven year old kid can do. Occasionally he would peer out of the grave, trying to see if someone was coming. For Las Vegas, that cemetery was awfully dark. Spencer had a small lantern with him, illuminating the dirt, but that was not enough to appease his fear. He continued to dig, ignoring the worms that fell on his hair every time he threw dirt away from the hole. His breathing was labored, his grip on the shovel slipping due to the sweat in his hands. Still, he kept digging. A part of his mind wondered where his mother was, if she was okay, what the ghost had done to her. He wanted to go looking for her, but a part of him, the rational part, said that he would do more good to her by continuing the hunt. The sooner he salted and burned the girl's remains, the sooner Diana Reid would be returned to her son.

He had just hit the coffin when it happened. She grabbed him by the hair, long even at that age, and yanked him upwards. He wondered how she could hold him if she was only a phantom, but that thought was quickly interrupted by his body hitting a grave a few feet away. It was only a bruised rib, he would take much worse later on in his life, but to a little seven year old, a bruised rib may be the equivalent to a knife in the heart. His body felt heavy, he let out a wail of pain, and his eyes were watered with salty tears. His glasses had been lost midflight, and as the young boy stood up, he had difficulty making out the shapes of everything around him.

There was silence again, and for the first time Spencer realized how agonizing the lack of sound can be. He turned his head from side to side, but it was useless; he could not see a thing. Still, there was a job to be done. His mother needed his help and he would provide it, whenever she needed. He was not weak.

He walked towards where he believed the grave he was digging was; ears alert for any sort of sound. In his small hands was Diana's iron knife, ready to be used in case danger presented itself. For a while the only sound heard was that of his breath, his sobs, and that distinct one of shoes meeting with wet grass.

Then he was hit again. This time he was pretty sure something may have broken, but he couldn't figure out what. He wasn't a doctor yet, after all. Still, while laying on the floor, he could see, well, sort of, his mother's backpack, the one where the materials needed were. So he couldn't be that far from his destination, could he? He looked up and saw the ghost, calmly walking towards him, maniac grin spread across her face. The fact that she was so calm, walking so slowly, was perhaps what terrified him most of all: She didn't consider him a threat. She was so confident that she walked towards him, creating a psychological torture, making the young child wonder anxious to when he would finally meet his end. Now that he looks back, he kind of smiles at himself; even at that age he was already profiling, though they were ghosts, not criminals.

He stretched his arms and felt the edge of the hole. With as much strength as he could conjure, Spencer pulled himself towards the whole, legs tying themselves around the straps of the backpack, and then his body fell 7 feet into the grave.

The ghost still didn't hurry, clearly not worried about what a boy who could barely see without his glasses could do. Still, Spencer kept on digging, frantically, until he was able to uncover the coffin and open.

Her body was still fresh (well, sort of). There was still meat in her bones, though the smell had become intolerable. His vomit ended up covering her entire face, her pretty lips that were slightly parted now wet with something that had an orange-brown color, some parts of it falling inside her mouth. The smell got worse, and the sight was grotesque, but Spencer was able to stop himself and focus on the job.

He sat down by the feet of the coffin, her body displayed in front of him. He quickly fetched the salt and spread everywhere he could see. He then poured gasoline all over, and tried to climb back up. His feet kept sliding, and it took him a good minute before he was back to the surface, all the while his mind wondering why hasn't she stopped me yet?

When he was finally outside, that was when the ghost started to realize how serious the situation was. Before she was just playing with him, like a cat would with a mouse before killing it and leaving it as a present in their owner's pillow. The look of horror in her face would have been funny, if young Spencer wasn't so scared. He quickly lit the match, and before she could leap towards him and strangle him (if her outstretched hands were anything to go by) he threw the match inside the open grave, successfully completing his first hunt.

Diana appeared a few seconds later. She returned his glasses and hugged him, telling him over and over again how proud she was of her little genius. And Spencer never forgot the sense of accomplishment he felt that day. Not only did he successfully managed to kill (could he really say kill?) a ghost, but he also managed to save many lives. From that moment on, his fate as a FBI Profiler was sealed.

He had many hunts after that. Some his mother would accompany him, other she wouldn't. It became more of a Spencer thing to do when she got worse. It was also a way he found to avoid bullies at school, a way to distract his mind. He learned how to shoot from the Winchester boys, two hunters a few years older than he was, but willing to teach the kid anything he wanted. Bobby was related to his mother somehow (maybe a cousin?), and that's how the three met. Dean would teach Spencer anything that required physical strength. He told the boy that just because he was a twig it did not mean he had to be weak. Know how to take down your opponent by using his own strength against them, that's what Dean would say. Sam would teach him about different creatures they encountered (Dean would tell stories too, but Spencer always found Sam's version slightly more realistic than that of the elder Winchester… slightly), explaining how they were able to kill them. Sometimes he even let Spencer read from John's journals.

It was a shock when the two became suspects of the FBI. Spencer remembers clearly that day, when he realized Dean and Sam were fugitives. He was still a teenager, still young, still taking care of Diana. He wanted to do something to help them, but knew there was nothing he could. What would he tell the FBI? That what killed those people were monsters and Dean and Sam were simply trying to stop it? Yeah, like they would believe that. There was nothing he could to clear up the Winchesters' names, or so he thought.

He was talking with his mother's doctor when realization came to him. Someone inside the FBI could provide a great help to hunter. Not only to inform them of possible cases, but also to make sure the federal agents stayed off their tracks. If Spencer worked for the FBI, then maybe he could erase all the files they had on Dean and Sam, and make sure that wherever the brothers were, the FBI would be in the opposite direction. And he would also be able to help people.

He chose the BAU, not only because profiling sounded fascinating, but because they solved cases all across the country. That meant that he would have files for cases happening in all of the United States, and it meant that Dean and Sam continue to travel around doing their thing without worries.

He told his plan to his college roommate (and eventually first boyfriend) Ethan. He was also a hunter. Spencer learned that on their first day, when he saw the boy carrying a small bag with rock salt. The two were ecstatic to meet each other. They would hunt together. It was a nice. Spencer had someone who he could share everything with, someone who he could trust, and someone who, most importantly, could have his back. Not that his mother didn't try, but there was just so much you could do when you were as sick as her. Ethan wasn't sick. Ethan could help him with whatever he needed, and at the end of the day he wouldn't forget who Spencer was.

It was only natural that their friendship progressed into something more. Spencer really believed that they would be together forever; they would join the BAU together, marry once gay marriage became legal, and continue to lookout for hunters everywhere. They would even continue to hunt when they could. They learned from Diana's doctor that many hunters actually had two jobs; one to pay the bills, and the other one being hunting. That doctor specialized in mental hospitals, which was why Spencer was a little more comfortable leaving his mother in her care. She would purify hospitals, make sure they were safe, with no spirits, and lookout for her patients. When she wasn't working as a Doctor, she hunted down ghosts of other mental facilities, knowing they were more than likely to return after death.

Things were perfect for a while. Sure, Spencer missed his mother, he missed her terribly, but he also knew that he needed to do this. He couldn't become a Profiler, hunt, and take care of her at the same time. Even if Ethan was willing to help, it just wasn't possible. Besides, she was better off there, where she would have attention all day at any time, and where she had someone who understood her world and was willing to share tales of recent hunts. It was for the best, he told himself.

He still tells himself that, still has to remind himself that he had no other choice. It is especially hard when he visits her and sees her looking out the window, a lost look in her eyes. His heart became heavy with guilt; Diana, the woman who would go out to the streets of Las Vegas in the middle of the night to hunt, now stuck in a chair, with nothing to do but relieve memories of her glory days. Sometimes he would silently cry himself to sleep, thinking back of when she had that beautiful proud smile on her face, boasting to Bobby about the hunt the two of them did together. He wonders if she is still proud him, now that he joined the government she hated so much.

But perhaps one of the memories Spencer liked the most was when he first introduced Ethan to Dean and Sam. His boyfriend forever spoke of that event as the day he met the devil himself (he had no idea of Sam's situation, of course). The two walked into a bar (a profiler, a musician, a hunter, and a sasquatch walk into a bar… Isn't there a joke like that?) and met the Winchesters. Dean had his arms crossed, no jacket on, showing off his muscles to Ethan (a clear message of you mess with Spencer and I'll beat the shit out of you, you son of a bitch), and Sam wore a smile, though his eyes held a glare, his tone clearly passive aggressive every time he spoke with the southerner.

Dean didn't move change his behavior for most of the night. He kept glaring at Ethan, making smart remarks at everything he said, his body language showing who the alpha-male there was. The smirk he gave him, Ethan told Spencer later on, was the scariest thing he had ever seen. And coming from a hunter, that is saying something. He was in an overprotective mode, acting the same way a father would to his daughter's first boyfriend (which made Spencer wonder if he had to remind Dean that, even though his hair was fairly long, he was still male). Sam, for what Spencer believed was the first time ever, didn't give his older brother any "bitch-faces" when the older was rude or obnoxious. To be quite honest, Spencer felt very bad for Ethan, if not slightly touched that the Winchesters cared so much for him as to scare off anyone who attempted to take away his virtue (how would Dean react if he knew that, when they met, Spencer had already lost his virginity to the musician? No… The scenes are way too graphic to imagine)

Ethan leaving left him heart-broken, though there was not a lot of time to think about it. I mean, Spencer felt like the world would end, though he had more important things to do than eat ice-cream and cry over his boyfriend leaving him without an explanation. More important things like… Well, stopping the end of the world.

He tried to assist in any way he could, but there is only so much a 20 year old FBI trainee can do when the angels decide to take their brotherly rivalry to the epic scale. He checked up on the brother frequently, tried to hunt as much as possible so they could focus on the big picture, but really, there wasn't much he could (or was allowed to do. What were Dean's words again? Oh yeah Stay out of it or I'll put Cas as your baby-sitter, and as much as Spencer was thrilled to have met an angel, he hardly knew how he would explain the presence of a man more socially inept than himself to his colleagues). So in the end he stayed behind as the big battle was fought, silently cursing the fact that the Winchesters cared for him so much that they would not allow him to fight with them.

When he met Derek Morgan, Spencer knew he was going to have a serious office-crush on him. The man was tall, strong, funny, everything any man or woman would fantasize of. And he was clearly straight (though that wasn't much of a problem, since even Dean who was as straight as the path of a bullet had fallen hard for a certain angel. And if Sam's reports were anything to go by, which they were, the two had already gotten over their does-he-like-me-like-I-like-him chick-flick phase and started a proper, if not poorly hidden, relationship). The main problem, actually, laid on the fact that Derek Morgan had no idea of the supernatural world whatsoever. And even if he did know about it, there was no guarantee it would work, right? Just look at how things ended up with Ethan.

Spencer was careful when working at the BAU. He knew that not only he had to lie, but he had to lie to a group of people who were walking lie-detectors. It was hard, it put him on edge, and most of his hesitance when interacting with his friends was due to fear of giving anything away. He made sure to pretend to be a bad shooter (or did you really think he was able to go from failing his exam to hitting bull's eye in about a week without any training in between? Hotch may have been a good teacher, but he was no miracle worker), for how could he explain the fact that he could shoot with such precise accuracy to a bunch of profilers? They would question where he acquired his skills, and then when Spencer attempted to come up with something, they would see straight through his lie. No, it was better pretending to be completely useless with guns, this way they wouldn't suspect a thing.

He also made sure that the names Dean and Samuel Winchester were completely wiped out from the FBI's computer. Sure, maybe a few agents who worked on their case would remember them and wonder what happened, but the truth was that in a few years from now no one would remember their faces, and therefore Dean and Sam could walk like free men (sort of).

He would hunt occasionally, when they didn't have a case. He was always on the lookout for new things. Ironically, hunting kept his mind off other things. Like how Morgan's shirt rose ever so slightly revealing his abs when he stretched his arms out. Or how he had to constantly lie to Gideon, the closest thing (not counting Bobby, of course) he ever had to a father figure. Or the guilt that his mother was still stuck in the hospital. The worry that he did something wrong to scare Ethan off. The faces of the many victims he saw on his cases…

The coffee wasn't a mere addiction, it was what kept him awake. His two jobs made his schedule chaotic, making coffee not only a treat, but a necessity. Sometimes he would be hunting all night long after coming back from a case, only to, once the hunt was finished, have to report to the BAU an hour later to start desk-work. Coffee kept him going. If it wasn't for that magic beverage created by the gods, Spencer would not be able to do half the things he does.

Gideon knew something was up with Spencer, but he never questioned. He knew the boy was hiding something, that there was more to his inquires than mere curiosity. But he left it alone. Spencer was grateful for that, for how would he be able to explain why he was interested where said serial-killer was buried? Maybe he could claim it was part of a research, but then the mentor would ask to see it when complete, and then Spencer would have to actually work on a research to cover up his lies and… Well, he just didn't have time for that!

Ah, dead unsubs… That was certainly something Spencer was not expecting when he entered the BAU. Though thinking back now he should have expected it to happen. People who die violently often come back as vengeful spirits, so why not serial-killers who were executed in the chair? It made complete sense that they would either go back to the behavior from when they were alive, or attempted to kill the agents who caught him. Spencer just wished he had figured that out in a different way; waking up after a long hard case in New Jersey to see the face of a sexual sadist who was executed after Spencer and his team caught him right before he was able to kill his 18th victim was rather unpleasant. He made sure to request a few days' vacation after that night, flew right to where the body had been buried, and did some Salt and Burn action. From that day on he kept an eye out for every single execution happening in the country, and made sure that when they killed an unsub in the field, to salt and burn his remains before leaving.

Though if you thought that facing a dead unsub was hard, you would not want to see Dean, Sam, and Cas (who had become quite found of the young genius and became like another best friend to him) when they found out about Tobias Hankle. Just like Spencer was careful not to let his hunting life interfere with his profiler life, he made sure his profiler life did not interfere with his hunter life. Dean and Sam would ask about his cases, but Spencer would always tone it down for them; they had more important things to worry about than how Spencer and his team used their profiling skills to discover that a terrorist was planning to bomb a Shopping Mall on its opening day. Needless to say, the case of Tobias Hankle was not mentioned to the boys. And it would have stayed that way if they had not decided to pay the genius boy a surprise visit, only to find him high on dilaudid, sitting in his apartment floor.

Dean was furious. He said more cussed words than Spencer believed were on the Oxford English Dictionary. Sam just looked at him disappointed, saying that if Spencer needed help he could have called them instead of doing drugs (which Spencer found rather ironic considering the whole demon-blood thing, but he was wise enough to keep his mouth shut). Castiel just looked at him with those piercing blue eyes, and Spencer felt that he would rather hear Dean calling him a stupid son of a bitch and look into the eyes that no doubtfully were reading his mind at that exact moment.

When the brothers finally calmed down, Spencer was able to tell them his tale. He had to tell every single detail, for every time he tried to omit something Castiel would interrupt him, and even though Spencer adored Cas, he would rather tell his story himself. He told them about the case they were working on, how he was caught in the corn field, and how he was handcuffed to the chair and tortured. He told them how Tobias Hankle, or rather, Charles and Raphael (cue Dean's even when he is someone's imagination he is still a total dick and Sam interrupting the story to ask Cas if there was any chance that it was the real Raphael and not a made up personality who was torturing Spencer) filmed the entire thing and forced him to choose someone to die. He also told about the Russian Roulette game, and the seizure, and how Tobias Hankle saved his life, and for that he was forever thankful.

After that night Spencer decided he would stop using dilaudid. Every time he closed his eyes he would see the face of the two men who he always admired, looking down at him with disappointment. He would remember what they went through and tell himself that his suffering was nothing compared to theirs, and therefore he had no reason to get high. Besides, the time he was spending getting stoned could be used for hunting, for saving more people. And wasn't that what his seven year old self always wanted to do?

The drugs stopped, and Spencer's life went back to normal. Gideon leaving caused him a lot of pain, he actually went all the way to see Bobby just to remind himself that there was still a person out there who saw him as a son and would never leave him, even if he did call him and idjit more times than Spencer would like. But with Gideon's parting came Rossi's coming, and Spencer was not upset about working with one if his idols.

Emily's "death" almost pushed him towards drugs again. And that was when Derek Morgan became more than just his best friend. Truth to be told, Spencer's office-crush had become full out head-over-hills-hopelessly-devoted-in-love back when they had to rescue Rebecca and play the Fisher King's game. But it was only after the loss of their fellow agent and friend that Spencer started to notice that maybe his unrequired feelings were not so unrequired.

He felt guilty about starting a relationship with Derek after what happened with Emily. It didn't seem right. He tried pushing Derek away, but the older man kept trying. He said that losing Emily made him realize that someday he might lose Spencer to this job too (little did he know that there was also the probability of losing Spencer to his second job), and he didn't want that to happen without ever giving their relationship a try. Finally, after long persuasions, Spencer agreed to go on a date with his best friend, and their friendship became something more.

Spencer was careful this time, not only did he not introduce Derek to Dean, Sam, and Cas (with no doubt Dean having a full on testosterone fight with his boyfriend, Sam glaring at him the entire time, and Cas just trying to understand why the Winchesters were so mad about Spencer dating someone when Spencer clearly did not mind Dean and Cas' relationship), but he also made sure not to be too overbearing. Of course, that led to questions, and Spencer had to explain the whole (not entirely) situation with Ethan. He told him how Ethan was his best friend and then boyfriend, how Spencer honestly believed they would share a life together, and how even now, almost a decade later, Spencer still wondered if he did something wrong that made Ethan want to leave him. That led to Derek asking about his abandonment issues regarding his father and then Gideon, and how Spencer seemed sure to believe that there mustbe something wrong with him.

The conversation led to a rather humiliating crying session, in which Spencer sobbed into Derek's shoulders for hours. He kept saying that It's alright Pretty Boy, but that only made Spencer feel more and more weak, and so he cried more. But at the end, it strengthened their relationship. Spencer could trust Derek with (almost) everything, and Derek could do the same with Spencer. The two had each other's backs in their professional and personal lives. All in all, this relationship was better, much more so, than the one he had with Ethan.

Which only made Spencer feel worse about the lying. He couldn't possibly tell Derek about the supernatural world, and neither did he want to. Derek was already haunted by the evil of humanity, how would he react if he found out that there was evil in things he did not even believe existed? No, it would be too much for Derek to handle. Spencer could do it because he was introduced to the supernatural at a young age, so to him there was no difference between the physical world and the supernatural one. But to Derek there was. The supernatural did not exist for him, and Spencer planned on keeping that way. He would protect the man he loved from what creatures he knew hid in the dark.

It didn't make the guilt easy to handle though. Coming up with lies as to why he didn't want to hang out at certain times was complicated. Previously Derek had assumed Spencer declined invitations to go out with the team because, even though they all knew each other for years, Spencer was still incredibly shy and socially awkward. But now that they were dating, that shouldn't be an issue anymore. But sadly, just because Derek and Spencer were dating it did not mean that supernatural creatures stopped visiting DC. Someone had to stop them, and that someone was Spencer.

Still, Derek never suspected him of cheating, for wish Spencer was grateful. Maybe it was because Derek was a profiler and could see that whatever Spencer did when they weren't together clearly did not involve hooking up with another man, or maybe it was simply because of the fact he knew Spencer for so long that he knew cheating was just not something he would do; whichever one it was, the result was the same. Derek still trusted Spencer fully.

It made Spencer feel like he didn't deserve the wonderful man that right now laid by his side. He had been talking about moving in together, and Spencer knew that this was a step they could never take. How would he explain the fact that he almost never slept at home? His nightly trips? No, moving in together was out of the question, sadly. If Spencer wanted to protect Derek, than this was the closest they could ever be. It will only be a matter of time before Derek realizes that he has no future with Spencer and dumps him for someone better.

Sighing, Spencer started to dress himself as his lover slept. Another one of his rules was no staying over at each other's house. Spencer worked at night, and having Derek in his bedroom, him in Derek's, would cause the same problem that moving in together would. Still, the young FBI agent kissed his lover's forehead, left behind a note proclaiming his love, grabbed his gun loaded with silver bullets, his iron knife, salt, some holy water, and his FBI credentials and left for another hunt.


	2. Chapter 2

Doctor Spencer Reid hated Shtrigas. Years of hunting and that was the monster he despised the most. If he had to guess, Shtrigas were probably the reason why he was so afraid of the dark (Well, okay, maybe that's a bit of a lie; when you grow up hearing stories of the things that live in the dark, it is only natural to be afraid of it. And then there is, of course, the natural absence of light that has scared humans since the beginning of time, and collective memory, although mainly a theory, says that such fear is passed down through the generations). He remembered the first time he faced one, and, as anyone could guess, it was not a pleasant experience.

Something that Spencer had learned during his life as hunter was that it is excruciatingly hard to find a Supernatural creature in a city as big as Las Vegas. Separating what is Supernatural from the work of humans can be incredibly challenging. For example, how can you tell that the many disappearance of children is due to Fairies or just a woman suffering from a psychotic breakdown after giving birth to a stillborn child? If you are not on the police, you do not have the access to the files that could give away if the work is something human or not (which, since Spencer joined the BAU, has saved a lot of hunters a lot of time. One quick glance at the files on JJ's desk, reading 20000 words per minute can come in handy at times, and he can tell if the case is worth having a Hunter investigating or not), so you just have to guess.

But see, the thing is, when you are 10 years old and your mother is a schizophrenic Hunter and there is an increase on children's deaths going around, facing a Shtriga can be pretty scary. Forget ghosts or werewolves, those are simple to handle. Shtrigas, though, they are tricky. Diana was trying her best though, Spencer never really held it against her, but the he still had nightmares about that night. Diana was sure the reason behind the disappearance were Fairies; and due to that fact, they planned their entire hunt around that (something Spencer later learned to be the wrong strategy). Spencer was supposed to make himself desirable to the Fairies, be the bait. And the idea sounded good… At the time… When they thought they were dealing with Fairies. Instead, Spencer made himself the perfect victim for a Shtriga.

He was in his bed when the thing came. He tried not to move, not to breathe… Tried not to give away he was actually awake. When he felt the presence of the thing hovering above him, he knew that it was no fairy. He had read books about the thing, and knew the only possible way to hurt was when it was feeding. The only logical choice then was to let it feed off him.

Try being 10 years old and having a monster feed off of you, while all the lights are off, and your mother, due to the fact she refused to take her medications for a few days now, was in the middle of an episode, leaving her incapable of helping him. Imagine yourself in such a situation, and then you can only feel a fraction of the fear Spencer felt that night. Can you really blame him for still having nightmares about the thing?

This was possibly the main reason why his boyfriend, SSA Derek Morgan, was shaking him awake. The team had just gotten back from vacation, and Derek had gone visit his family in Chicago. Spencer stayed in Virginia, and found himself a Hunt to occupy his time while he was away from his lover. And the Hunt was… Yeah, you guessed it, a Shtriga.

"Hey! Pretty Boy! Spence…! Spencer!" his smoothing voice combined with his strong hands shaking his shoulders (And Spencer is no weakling. He may look like it, he isn't. He is really is not. Spending your childhood with the Winchester Brothers teaches you a thing or two about enduring strong punches and kicks… Of course, being a 12 year old protégée in High School helps out a lot as well) brought Spencer back from the land of dreams. "Are you okay, Pretty Boy?"

"Yeah… huh… It was just… Just a nightmare." He answered shaking his head slightly. A few awkward stretches later and the genius was throwing his legs over the bed, ready to put his pants back on, drink a cup of coffee and leave.

"Wanna talk about it?" Derek didn't move from his place, eyes following his lover as he tried on the first pair of pants only to find that they fell to the floor as soon as he let his grip loose.

"No, I'm fine."

"You have an awful lot of nightmares, you know." Derek said, finally sitting up "Is it something to do with the headaches?"

"No." His answer was short, sweet, and to the point. Derek was a profiler, one of the best, so saying more could give something away. "Just a regular nightmare."

"Didn't sound regular to me."

"Well, we don't exactly have regular jobs." Spencer could feel himself getting defensive. No, that was not the way to go. He was not Dean, after all, he could not snap at anyone when they were hitting too close to home (Though one cannot deny that the elder boy didn't have an influenced the younger one's temper) "You said it yourself, some time ago, that not having nightmares in our line of work would be a bad thing."

"I know what I said." He was frowning slightly now, looking at him with thoughtful eyes. Great, he had his profiler face on "But I also know that talking about your nightmares can make them go away."

"Well, maybe I don't want to talk about them." Now he was making his way to the kitchen and pouring himself some coffee, even though it was close to 11 at night. He had a hunt to go to and his, erm, appointment (Yeah right), had thrown him off his schedule. "Can't you just leave it Derek?"

"I can't. You wanna know why?"

"Something tells me I'm going to hear about it either way" he murmured into his cup.

"Because I care about you Spencer." The older man said, ignoring Spencer "I love you man, I really do."

"I love you too Derek."

"I know that, but you still won't let me in." There was a hint of desperation "You have nightmares you won't talk about, you don't tell me what you do every night, you don't go visit my family with me, you never stay the night even though the entire Team knows we're together…! If I didn't know better Spencer, I would say you were cheating on me!"

"I'm not!" and as soon as those words were out of Derek's mouth, Spencer's heart started to hammer against his chest. No, he could not have Derek believing that. Think anything of him, anything at all, but not that he was cheating.

"Spencer, I know you are not…" but Spencer was too far gone to pay any attention.

"I mean, you can even profile me if you need to! I won't be mad! I don't fit the profile of a cheater, I would never cheat on you Derek, please believe me!"

"Spencer!" since when was Derek's face just a few mere inches away from his (or his hands holding his shoulders steady? Guess he must have been on a rambling spree) "I know you are not cheating on me, you hear me? I know that."

"But you said…"

"I'm sorry. I know you are not a cheater. Listen to me Pretty Boy, I am not going to leave you. "

"You promise?" oh, how much more pathetic could he get?

"I promise." And a quick peck on his lips signaled that the argument was over. "Good night Pretty Boy."

"Good Night"

That was not the first argument that Spencer and Derek ever had on the subject, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. It did not mean, however, that Spencer did not feel bad about the fact he had to keep his two families, his two lives, so separate. At moments like those Spencer would wonder if Dean was right, if there really was no way he could ever have a relationship with someone who was not in their business one way or another. Maybe things would have been better if Ethan had never left; he understood a little bit of FBI work and he certainly knew a lot about Hunting… But then Sam's voice tells him that his brother is just being an idiot and no one should take love advise from a man who could not tell an Angel that rebelled against Heaven (and a bunch of other things that Spencer won't even bother listing since it will get him sidetracked of this mind rant) he cared for him a more than just palls. Sam had a very healthy relationship with Jess before that night, so it's not impossible.

Besides, Spencer loved Derek way too much to give up on their relationship that easily. Ethan may have been his first love, but it certainly did not compare to what he felt towards Derek. Derek was… Well, Derek.

So yeah, maybe it was the guilt that had driven him to Garcia's office very early in the morning, asking to dig up everything she could on Dean and Sam Winchester. It was a weird request, and the perky hacker sure give her "Junior G-man" a confused glance, but she complied all the same. John Winchester may have been a great hunter, but he certainly wasn't that good on covering his tracks. How else would the FBI had known so much about the brothers when they were considered dangerous suspects?

The guilt may have been part of the reason, but it certainly wasn't the only one; it had been a while since he started building up a "profile" of the crimes Dean and Sam were accused of. He planned to present it to his team so they could see how incompatible they were and, as a result, clearing the Winchester name.

"Any reason why you're investigating this dynamic duo?" Garcia asked as she handed him the files "Aren't they both dead or something?"

"That may be… But… I'm just curious I guess…" he said, flipping over the papers before smiling "Thanks Garcia."

"No problemo." She answered before spinning her chair so she was facing her many computer screens yet again.

Spencer gave another smile and exited her office, returning to his desk. Not surprisingly he saw both Derek and Emily slipping some of their paperwork into his pile, and he almost had stop himself from smiling at their childish behavior. Really, one would think that doing the paperwork was some sort of medieval torture, or the equivalent of being put under Gabriel's mercy (which Spencer had the misfortune of experiencing it… Apparently being a friend of the Winchesters as well as Castiel automatically gave the trickster the right to torment you), rather than just a tedious part of their job. But since Spencer was a genius (and felt incredibly guilty for keeping a large part of his life hidden from his friends), he never truly minded doing the extra work.

Still, that doesn't mean he will ever let them know about it.

"Really guys?" he asked, finally sitting back on his desk "You did it again?"

"Don't know what you're talking about Pretty Boy." Said Derek, trying his best to look innocent.

"Yeah Reid." Emily frowned "What are you talking about?"

"Slipping your paperwork into my pile… As usual."

"That's some serious accusations you have." Emily said, her frown deepening (as if that would persuade Spencer of her innocence… This was more like a playful banter at this point, and while he willingly participated, sometimes he asked himself what was the whole point.).

"Do you have any proof?" Derek crossed his arms and sat on his desk.

"An eye witness account." He shook his head up and down slightly, not taking his gaze away from his lover "Me."

"Well, even if you do have a witness." Emily continued "You should be careful before saying someone did something. Most eyewitness accounts are unreliable."

"Actually, a study done in 2004 claims that not only are eyewitness accounts unreliable, but that the amount of stress and hormone the person is under affects their memories of the crime. It says that about 30% of…"

"Yeah, that's what I meant." Emily says, nodding her head "Unreliable."

"Which means we are dealing with a he-said case." Now Derek had his serious I'm-dealing-with-an-uncoperative-detective-who-aprehended-a-suspect-who-doesn't-fit-the-profile-voice. "So unless you have some physical evidence, you can't charge us with anything."

"Ignoring the fact that I could hold you in custody without pressing charges, there is also the cameras around the room probably caught you doing this and fingerprints will show you exactly what files I never touched."

Emily was smiling now, no longer trying to keep herself serious. Still, she wanted to continue to play their little game (anything that could get away from deskwork), and was ready to say something else when Spencer's cellphone rang.

One look at the caller ID and the genius stood up, excusing himself from the room and going by the coffee machine to speak in private. He could feel Emily and Derek's curious eyes on him, but ignored and turned around, so that they had a nice view of his back.

"Dean? Is everything okay?" Spencer asked. Most of the times when Dean and Sam called it was just to say hi and check up on their surrogate brother. Sometimes they wanted to talk about their latest Hunt or hear about what Spencer had been hunting; other times they called him when they needed some sort of information Sam was not finding ("We got our own personal Encyclopedia in Spence's brain Sammy. No need to carry all those books around")… But every now and again there was the occasional call that said Yeah, the Apocalypse, you know that? It started or the You remember Cas, the one that freed the Leviathans and died? Yeah, he is alive now and in a mental hospital, don't worry about him, Meg has everything under control. Calls like that let Spencer's heart to increase its beat every time he received a call from the Winchester… but can you really blame him for that?

"No." Oh God… Oh God, what now…? "My idiot of a brother is refusing to buy me some pie."

Wait… What?

"You are calling me because Sam won't buy you pie?"

"Well, no. But you asked if everything is okay, and it's not. I want pie." Spencer laughed at little at that. "See if you can convince him of ditching his rabbit food and enjoying the fine miracle that it is pie so I can have some."

"I may be able to talk unsubs into letting go of their weapons, but even I'm not able to persuade a stubborn Winchester. You're on your own."

"Damn."

"Besides the pie…" he continued "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything perfect." He answered "Well, Sam and I are okay. Pretty sure Cas' ass is sore from last night. I'll tell ya, the dude may be an angel or whatever, but when he gets horny, I just can't help but…"

"Dean!" Spencer was able to hear Sam calling in the background "Please, I don't need to know this kind of stuff!"

"Oh, calm down Samantha." Replied Dean "It's natural, you see, when two people really love each other…"

"Shut up!" and now Sam was on the line, and Spencer could hear the older of the two siblings laughing "Hey Spencer. How is everything."

"Things are going fine here. We're having a relatively calm week actually."

"Really? That's good." Sam was terrible at disguising his concern, Spencer noticed. Every time they embarked on a new case Sam made Spencer promise to call every night, just to make sure he is okay. Ghosts and Demons are easy to defeat, Sam would claim. They have patterns they follow, signs that give their presence away. They are easy to understand and easy to stop. Humans, on the other hand (especially the crazy psychos you deal with Spence) are difficult to predict, therefore, to a certain extent, are more dangerous than Supernatural Creatures (Though Spencer still had to decide what he rather do: Face an armed unsub without his bullet proof vest or meeting Crowley again… Probably the former…) "And things between you and Derek?"

"They are going great." Spencer smiled, looking at his lover who was now by JJ's side, looking at some new pictures of Henry she took during their week off. "Everything is going as usual here."

"You're at work?"

"Yeah, we just got out from vacation."

"Any good Hunts?"

"A couple." He couldn't help but scratch the back of his head "I'll tell you about it when I get home."

"Okay." Spencer could just imagine him nodding his head in agreement "Listen, we checked out the place you told us about."

"Really?" another glance towards his team. Good, they weren't listening "How was it?"

"You were right." And Spencer could hear Dean saying as usual in the background "A Wendigo was killing the hikers. Apparently the monster had a preference towards red-haired woman."

"Must have tasted better." Dean added.

"Either way, it's gone now." Sam continued as if his brother had no spoken. "And we're going to salt and burn the remains of that guy on Death Row as soon as possible."

"Please." Spencer asked "If anyone is going to come back is going to be him. I'm certain he would start killing couples all over the highways again if he doesn't come for my team."

"Don't worry about it Spencer." Sam said "Consider it done."

"Okay…" he was about to say something else when Hotch signaled him to come to his office "I have to go now, I'll call you guys later."

"Be careful!" Sam said, and Spencer smiled.

"Yeah, you two. Give Cas my condolences."

And with that he snapped the phone shut and followed his boss. He did not miss the look the others gave him, one of pure concern, and suddenly he knew what Hotch wanted to talk about. It was always the same thing, every time they returned from a vacation. It was also kind of ironic, if Spencer was completely honest with himself. They spent their time off worrying about him, and Spencer worried about them. Unknown to his team, their houses were demon and ghost proof. Spencer did his best to make sure that their homes, the only place where they can escape the cruelty of their job, was a sanctuary from all Supernatural Creatures. He hid them well; replaced the wood in the frames of doors and windows with Iron painted to look like wood, as well as written some protection spells under rugs and furniture. Nothing that wasn't human could penetrate their homes.

But that was in Virginia. Most of his team spent their breaks with their families or travelling… In either case, they left their home. And Spencer had not protected their homes. It was always a constant worry of his, if he could protect them while they were so far away. What if they got hurt by a simple little ghost that attacked during their sleep simply because their hotel rooms or parents' house were not protected (something else that Spencer did every time they went on a case was protect their rooms, just in case he was wrong on his analysis and they were dealing with something Supernatural)? Or what if they were possessed? When he first voiced his concerns to Bobby, the man suggested slipping some Holy Water into their coffee, just in case. It was a brilliant idea, to be quite honest, and since then Spencer always brought everyone's coffee and watched as they took their first sip.

He did all those things because he loved his team. He loved them like family, and, therefore, protected them like he would his family. They may not know about the Supernatural World, but Spencer still loved them with every single blood cell in his body. The only problem was that the feeling was mutual, and so, every time they came back from vacation, Spencer would find himself in Hotch's office, looking at his shoes just like a kid would when he was in trouble with the principal.

"Reid, is everything okay?" Hotch asked.

"Everything is perfect." He answered. God, were his shoes always this dirty?

"Are you sure?

"Yes." He still refused to meet Hotch's eyes. Probably the wrong move, but Spencer was afraid that if he looked up at his boss and friend he would give too much away, and Hotch, being the brilliant profiler he was (Spencer can never forget the day in court when an attorney challenged Hotch's profiling skills and got, as a response, a verbal smack down from the stoic man. Spencer was holding back a smirk, and he knew if Dean and Sam had been in the room with him he wouldn't be able to stop his laughter.)

"Is your mother doing okay?"

"She's fine, I talked to her this morning." A small smile graced his face as he thought of his mom. Long ago it hurt that maybe his mother's schizophrenia would never allow her to fully understand how much Spencer loved her, but now… Well, it still hurt, but not as much. He would tell himself he did what was best for her, and continued to do so, even now, working as a profiler for the BAU.

"And things with Morgan?" a raised eyebrow, and Spencer knew he was being profiled.

"Derek and I are doing fine." He assured.

"Spencer, must we go through this every time we come back from a break?" Hotch's voice carried a frustrated tone that Spencer had associated with his Answer-me-wrong-and-you-will-be-in-big-trouble-mister.

"I don't know. Do we?" Again, probably the wrong move. Blame it on the Winchesters.

"We worry about you Reid." Hotch said "You look like you haven't slept in days! You look stressed and worried all the time… Even though we haven't had a case in two or three weeks" Two weeks, 3 days, 4 minutes and 53 seconds "Your behavior states that you have not stopped working on something incredibly draining for months."

"I know you are concerned Hotch…"

"Do you? I don't think you understand how serious this situation is. This goes beyond you needing to be in perfect condition to work in the field and how it affects your work" Spencer was pretty sure he heard something like that coming from his boss before "It's about your health. You have to take care of yourself Spencer."

"I do take care of myself."

"It certainly doesn't look like it." Hotch paused "Reid… Are you…"

Oh, great… They always jumped to that conclusion.

"I'm clean Hotch." He said.

Not just the Team, his other family also always jumped to the same conclusion. Once they had Cas pop in on him to make sure to tell him that "Being a junkie would land him in Hell" (courtesy of Dean, Spencer was sure), that "It would kill his brain cells" (that one was Sam), and that he was "an idjit" (Bobby). Even Cas had put his two cents in, saying that his Father would hate for a soul as pure as Spencer's to be corrupt due to drugs.

"Are you sure?" Hotch asked again.

"Positive."

"Then what is the problem?"

"Nightmares." He answered quickly. Yeah, that was a good answer. Not a lie, but not the truth… Plus, Derek could actually vogue for him, considering he had a terrible nightmare last night.

"Oh… Well, then…" Spencer could see Hotch had no answer for that, and simply smiled.

"Thanks for worrying about me Hotch, but I'm fine. Really." And without giving his boss another chance to reply, Spencer walked out of the office, going back to his desk to do Derek and Emily's paperwork, the Winchester File staring at him as he read each word.

Damn Shtriga.


	3. Chapter 3

There were very few things that worried Spencer more than an Unsub killed during a case. Really, there were some things he could deal with, like werewolves, vampires, a sexual sadist… Those things were part of his jobs, he knew how to deal with them (sometimes he can't help but wonder when did his life become so messed up that dealing with supposedly mythical creatures and serial killers is just as normal as drinking a cup of coffee in the morning.). But a dead Unsub that came back to haunt you… Well, that was a whole different story.

Dealing with ghosts is not hard. It really isn't a problem for him (his first Hunt was a ghost, it's not like they can scare him after he was dragged to a grave when he was nothing but a seven year old boy). Some salt and burn action and the job was done. It's a very easy and very simple Hunt, really. Honestly, he wished most of the Hunts he went to were just vengeful spirits. It would make the job a whole lot easier.

But Unsub Ghosts are different from regular vengeful spirits. For one thing, they were slightly more sadistic (just a tiny bit). Take your regular spirit, for example. Say it killed about three people after its death by… what? A car accident? Yeah, let's go with that. Sure, it's painful and cruel, but it is not something that the spirits would have done if they were living. Now Unsubs… well, Unsubs usually did some crazy stuff while still breathing air. Sometimes Spencer couldn't help but wonder where they got all their ideas from (Is there some sort of website for ideas on how to creatively kill numerous amounts of people? Somehow it wouldn't be that shocking… Maybe he should tell Garcia to search for something like that one day). What vengeful spirits do to their victims is child's play compared to what a living Unsub does. Now, when that unsub is dead and he (or she. One thing Spencer learned is to never scratch out the possibility of a woman being the Unsub unless the profile strictly points to a male) for whatever reason, decides to come back from the great beyond, not only do they have their former creativity (which by itself is scary enough), but also have a whole new set of skills that they can use to kill people; skills that are not available to the living.

Yeah, Unsub Ghosts? Not fun to deal with.

Which is why he always salts and burns the bodies of unsubs killed during a case. Better safe than sorry, right? Still, every now and again the unsub had something that was really dear to them, and unless you also salt and burn said object, the spirit will come back (which just made the Hunt so much more difficult; there actually were a few cases in which the object was considered evidence, and Spencer had to figure out a way to steal it from the police. Really, it's a miracle Spencer is not in jail yet). And when that happened, well, Spencer would usually have to request a couple of days off so he could go to whatever state the unsub lived in and do his job. Asking the Winchesters to deal with was just out of the question. Sure, they would go on a Hunt every now and again by his request, but most of the time they were too busy preventing the Apocalypse or Hunting Leviathans (or whatever other Word-threatening problem they had that week) to go to the other side of the country to deal with an Unsub Ghost.

One of the worst case scenarios was quite recently, actually, much to Spencer's surprise. Usually when an Unsub Ghost shows up is right after his death. This time, it barely showed any signs of being there. For years he went unnoticed. It really was one of those Hunts that Spencer would never forget.

They were investigating a case in Georgia, two Unsubs with a dominant and submissive relationship were killing children they thought resembled their tormentors back in middle school. The fact that it dealt with bullying was already getting to Spencer; he was not being very helpful to the Team, and Derek was constantly worrying if he was okay. It's always hard when you can relate to the Unsub. Those two had been tortured by their bullies while in their pre-pubescent stage, and no one did a thing to help them. They said that it is part of growing up (if Spencer had a penny for every time he heard that idiotic excuse he would be able to pay for all the gas the Impala uses), and therefore left the two alone. One of them became the protector of the duo, the one who would stand up against the bullies and protect the friend. Still, said protector, the dominant in the relationship, was physically weak, and lost most of the fights. The other was quiet and didn't want any trouble, but started to admire his partner due to his emotional strength and courage. He became completely dependent on the other, and soon, when they were old enough, they started to kill children they knew were also tormenting their classmates. They would kidnap said children, torture them the way they tortured their victims, and then kill them, before throwing the bodies in a field and going after the next one.

It was a hard case, one that had Spencer questioning if the job was really getting to him considering he didn't feel much about the fact that children were being brutally murdered. But that wasn't what made it the worst Unsub Ghost Hunt Spencer ever had (even more so because neither one of them died). No, this case was what brought him to Georgia, which was the reason why Dean and Sam called him, asking him to check out some weird activity that was going on around that area. It shouldn't take long, they had told him; just a few hours, salt and burn some random body, then Spencer could be on his way.

What the hell was Spencer thinking when he believed things would be that simple? While Spencer may not share the Winchester blood, he certainly shared their luck.

This case concluded at the ungodly hour of 2AM. The Unsubs were arrested, the last victim found and safely return to his parents, everything ended in peachy colors and happy sunshine (well, not counting the three children that had died during their investigation), the happiest ending one can ever get while working at the BAU. Still, there was the pressing question of what to do next. They could go to the plane have their long 54 minutes flight back to Quantico (mind you, 54 minutes is a long time after nearly a week without any sleep, looking for Unsubs all over the state of Georgia)… Or they could sleep for five hours and live at 7AM.

The opportunity was perfect. Sure, Spencer would be tired the next morning, but he could always sleep on the plane and nap a little once he got home before reviewing possible new Hunts. Should be no problem, it's not like one more day without sleep would hurt him. And it would also get his mind off this case, which was something he desperately needed.

With that logic, as soon as Derek was snoring (he may deny as much as he wants… But Derek's snoring is louder than a werewolf growling) Spencer grabbed his messenger bag where he always had a mini Hunting-kit (includes an iron knife, a silver knife, silver bullets, gasoline, salt, holy water,… You know, what everyone needs to carry around everywhere in case they want to survive) and left the hotel. He made sure to deprogram his cellphones GPS (one questioning Garcia is something Spencer would rather not face again, thank you very much) and set out to the address Dean had sent him.

He really should have known something was off when Dean first told him the address. No, in retrospective, he should have figured out what was wrong when Sam read him some statistics (How odd was it that the younger Winchester was the one giving him the percentage on something instead of the other way around?) that said numerous people over the past few years had gone to the hospital due narcotic overdose-like symptoms. Then to make things even more obvious, apparently said ghost lurked around an abandoned graveyard, accusing those who came near it of being sinners.

In retrospective he should have figured out he was dealing with Tobias Hankel and his other two personalities.

Though, to be fair, Spencer thought Tobias had died (somewhat) peacefully. There was no unfinished business, and it seemed that Charles and Raphael had died as soon as Spencer's bullet hit the body, leaving only Tobias alive during those last few minutes. Tobias had no logical reason to stay behind and Spencer figured that if he was going to come back, he would have heard something about it a few months after the case, not years later.

Dealing with Tobias' ghost was incredibly frustrating. Spencer had already salted and burned the body (yet another reason why he never suspected he would return), so he had no other choice but return to the place of his nightmares and search for something, anything, that could have tied Tobias, Charles, and/or Raphael to this world.

It was quite the daunting task, to be honest. As soon as he entered the graveyard he was hit with memories of his time in Charles and Raphael's possession. He remembered the torture, the verbal abuse, the way they forced him to watch as other people were murdered in the screens, and then, to make things worse, forced to choose a member of his Team, his family, to die. He also remembered Tobias' kind words and his attempts to help him. He remembered how Tobias saved his life and relieved his pain. Yes, it may have caused some huge problems later on in his life, but the man's intentions had been pure. Spencer could not find in himself to hate Tobias for trying to protect him the only way he knew: By introducing dilaudid to him.

And if memories were not enough, there was definitely something wrong with the air in that place. That must be the doing of Tobias' doing; bringing a narcotic gas to the region in order to keep possible victims away. It would do the trick, he must have rationalized; most people would leave the place as soon as they sensed something weird in the air, making it almost impossible for Charles or Raphael to do anything to them. Unfortunately Spencer could not leave the place, at least not until he found what objects he had to salt and burn.

That was easier said than done, naturally. Spencer spent over an hour searching the place, collecting any objects that might have been of importance to the ghost (Ghosts? Would it be more than one hjost if it had dissociative identity disorder?). He gathered everything from Raphael's Bible to the syringes Tobias used to shoot up dilaudid with, collecting a total of about twenty different objects. Normally he wouldn't have been this careless (he was an experienced Hunter, after all. Son of the great Diana Reid, whose name was feared in the Supernatural World), but there were narcotics in the air, and Tobias' ghosts could appear at any second. Really, Spencer just wanted to get this Hunt over with as soon as possible.

As he put everything in his messenger bag (which now was weighting a ton) he made his way to the outside of the property, stumbling on his own two feet as the drugs finally started to take effect on his body. He was almost there, the car he had borrowed (not stolen) in sight, when someone called his name.

A shiver ran up his spine. He would recognize that voice anywhere.

Biting his lower lip, Spencer continued to go towards the exit, trying his best to not look behind or breathe too much. He needed to get out of there. He needed to get out of there now.

He closed his eyes, as if that would will the ghost of Tobias Hankel away. He was doing this to help him, Spencer told himself. Yes, sending his ghost to the great beyond was the best way he could repay Tobias Hankel for saving his life from Charles and Raphael. Burning the items in his bag was the only way Spencer could possibly atone for taking away the man's life.

He glanced behind, against his better judgment, only to find no one, dead or alive, standing there. For a second he imagined if he was hearing things, but then he turned back to face the exit, only to find the man who haunted both his dreams and his conscious standing in his way.

He was forced to stop. Maybe he could reason with him? If it was Tobias standing there, not Charles or Raphael, he could try reasoning with him. He had done that before with countless unsubs, right? Even tried reasoning with Tobias himself, though at the time it didn't work much to his advantage. He could do it. He could reason his way through it.

Of course, his Winchester Luck would not have given him a day off. Tobias' face, first one of despair and pity as he struggled to tell him to run, morphed into an angry snarl.

"You fucking sinner!" he said in Charles' voice.

Yeah, well, Spencer also had some very colorful choices of words to say to Charles, only they died halfway through his throat due to fear and fuzziness. It really was the perfect time for the narcotics to take away his ability to think, wasn't it? Right when he was facing the angry ghost of an unsub with dissociative identity disorder and was convinced that Spencer was a sinner who deserved to burn in hell. Even if reasoning worked on Charles (which experience told Spencer that it did not) he would never be able to say anything intelligent with the fog clouding his brain.

Had he known this would happen before going on his Hunt he would have asked for a day off instead of trying to fit it into a five hour period.

Before he could do or say anything, Charles Hankel had tackled him, his hands at his throat. His lip was curled above his teeth like an angry dog and his face was red, with veins showing popping out of the side of his forehead; had Spencer not shot him himself he would have wondered if the ghost before him was really dead. The anger and hate in the being was so great that the gravestones, placed in the soil so many decades ago, started to shake. Then the house and the fence surrounding the area followed their lead. There was no doubt in Spencer's cloudy mind that the unsub ghost was powerful to lift said objects and throw them at his direction if he ever attempted to escape.

One thing Spencer never did, however, was give up. Luckily for him his messenger bag was still in his person, and although now filled with useless junk (well, not useless, considering that at least one of those things was possibly what kept the angry ghost whose hands were gripping on his neck very tightly in the realm of the living), it still had some salt and an iron knife. At this point either one would be enough to get Charles (or was it Raphael now? He started screaming sinner and quoting the Bible, so Spencer really wasn't sure anymore) off of him.

And maybe it was a good thing that Spencer was being drugged. The knife was the one pulled out of the bag first, only Spencer grabbed it by the blade instead of the handle. With a swing of his trembling arm the iron handle went through Hankel's body. He cried in pain before disappearing, giving Spencer the perfect opportunity to drag himself out of the place.

His hand was bleeding, and now dirt had entered the wound (he would have to take care of that because it will probably get infected), but at that point the pain was dulled by the narcotics. He continued to drag himself, still too weak to stand up, through the floor, until his hands met the metal fence. He smiled, thinking all was over, when someone grabbed his ankle.

Charles or Raphael, whichever one had decided to surface now, tried to pull him back towards his person. Spencer glared at the ghost and tried to pull himself towards the exist, but the other was too strong (it was a miracle he was able to keep his ground like that). In a split second decision Spencer summoned all the strength he could find and warped his left arm around the fence, keeping him tangled there, while he held the iron knife in his mouth and, with his injured hand, grabbed for some salt in his bag.

It really was a good thing he was drugged, otherwise he might have heisted before using his injured hand to grab salt. Still, he threw it in the ghost's direction without blinking. Only a little bit touched the Unsubs' spirit, but it was enough time for him to let go of Spencer's leg, allowing the living man to crawl away from the haunted property. Without really thinking about safety (he was incredibly high at the point, mind you. His vision was blurry and his mind was in a haze. Most of what he did he did it out of instinct, for the great Diana Reid had taught her son well. Spencer could fight the Supernatural even if he was high, drunk, or in the brink of death. It was one of the things Dean liked to joke about, saying that if they ever went to get drunk they could just keep Spencer with them, because the man was even deadlier when his big brain wasn't rationalizing and interpreting every single decision he made. Bobby used to say that that was Spencer's problem; he thought too much and that hurt his Hunting. If he acted more on instinct, as he was doing right now, he could be as incredible as Dean, Sam, and maybe even his mother) he entered the car and drove as fast as he could.

There was a slight possibility that Spencer drove more than 40 miles above the speed limit, or that he drove on the wrong side of the road (Sam liked to tell a story in which Dean attempted to do that once, and when stopped by the police he pretended to be British in order to get out of the ticker. He later had to break out of jail, for Sam did not have enough money to pay bail… Or time to wait until Dean was set free by a judge). Maybe his lights were off, and Spencer was more than sure that there were a couple of signs that looked more like the faces of red Reapers than actual stop signs. But it honestly didn't matter; Spencer only cared that he was far away from the angry ghost.

He stopped after a while; almost falling off the car when he opened the door. There was grass all around and the sun was starting to rise. He walked in some random direction, not worrying about who saw him, before finally stopping, dumping all the twenty items he found on the floor and setting them on fire. He then fell on the grass, keeping as close as an eye as he possibly could on the fire, waiting to sober up a little bit before going back to the car.

When he arrived at the hotel he still had ten minutes before the alarm clock went off. Going to sleep clearly wasn't an option, so Spencer just took a shower, hoping to get all the dirt off his body. He only prayed that Derek was still too tired to notice that something was wrong with Spencer.

Derek was a caring, lovely, and adoring lover. He tried to cater to Spencer's every need, be there whenever the younger agent needed. Sometimes Spencer thought the other man was too good for him; he did nothing but lie to Derek on a regular basis, and Derek still tried to keep their relationship together. The guilt sometimes was too overwhelming. Lying came naturally when one was trained to be a Hunter since childhood. It was one of the requirements of the job; but that did not mean that he felt any less guilty about it.

And Derek knew Spencer well enough to know when something was wrong (was it too horrible that he often asked himself why his boyfriend had to be such an wonderful and perceptive guy? Oh, why the hell did he fall for a profiler? That's the worst job your lover can have when you have to keep so many secrets from them). That day had been no exception. Hotch gave them the rest of the morning and afternoon off, and Spencer and Derek decided to spend it together in the latter's home, cuddling on the couch and maybe doing something more.

But Spencer had taken narcotics. Not on purpose, of course, but still, narcotics were put into his system. And Spencer was an addict (one of the things he was taught while in group counseling was that you never stopped being an addict; you would forever battle that disease, forever struggle with cravings. To accept that would get him on step closer to better managing his problem). It didn't take long for the withdrawals symptoms to start (9 hours, he had learned, is all it takes for the withdrawal symptoms to reach its peak, though it is more common to take 14 to 21 hours. Again, his Winchester Luck was on his side.)

The first sign that he wasn't under the drug's influence anymore (which happened while Derek cooked them some breakfast at around 10AM) was when the cut in his hand started hurting. He mentally cursed himself for being so careless, and slipped into his lover's bathroom to access the damage. Like he predicted, it had an infection. It was more bothersome than anything else, though Spencer still had no idea how he would explain to Derek how he got the cut.

Then later in the evening it started; the muscle pains, the restlessness, the nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, chills, goose bumps, running nose, anxiety… It all started at around 7PM. The romantic night Derek had planned for them was ruined by the withdrawal symptoms. But worse was having to explain to Derek that no, he was not back on drugs. He told him he was craving, and that was it. It was the best cover up he could come up with while his boyfriend stood in front of him, arms crossed and brows knitted together in anger, as Spencer's hands moved one over another, in an attempt to keep still, ready to be scolded like a little child. The case had stressed him out, he said, bringing memories of not only Hankel (which Derek flinched when he mentioned his name) but also of being a twelve year old prodigy in a High School full of stupid teenagers (he still remembers how it felt to be tied to that pole, naked, for hours… And then to return home to know he was never missed, for his mother was in the middle of an episode… It hurted so much… Derek was the first person he ever told about the incident. Ethan didn't know about it… Neither did the Dean or Sam. Spencer could only shudder at the thought of what the two men would do if they ever found out). Derek had left the topic alone, deciding to silently be by Spencer's side while the younger one threw up in toilet, curled against his chest as chills ran up and down his body.

Spencer knew, though, that the subject would not die there. Derek was not in the BAU for nothing. He knew, or at least suspected, that Spencer was hiding something from him. It didn't help that Spencer never stayed the night due to Hunting trips, or that he was constantly drinking coffee to keep himself awake… Maybe that was why Hotch had called him to his office not long ago, demanding to know if he was clean. To anyone else who knew his history of drug abuse, but not of the Supernatural, his behavior would seem incredibly suspicious.

The worse part about having to Hunt Tobias Hankel's ghost was that he didn't even get it right. Apparently none of the twenty items he burned was what kept him tied him to Earth (which was just great. Spencer burned a Bible for nothing. That was getting him to hell. Maybe Crowley would take pity on him and arrange some nice comfortable chambers for his person? He could try negotiating… It worked on Unsubs, why not on Demons?), and the ghost was still out there. At first Dean had started yelling at him, asking how the hell did he lose such an easy Hunt, but Sam calmed him down (though Spencer knew the younger one had similar questions).

He explained to Sam how the air was full of narcotics, and how Spencer had to try and get whatever he could find as fast as possible, since he knew for a fact the body had been salted and burned already. As soon as the word narcotics escaped his lips, Sam was apologizing for giving him the Hunt, acting like an over protective mother he was and asking Spencer if he was okay.

"Yeah, I'm fine" he had told him "Apart from the withdrawal symptoms that are a pain to go through, I'm fine. I overcame it once, I can do it again."

It still made him feel like a cheater when he looked at his sobriety coin, though. After 4 years, 5 months, 6 days, and 3 hours clean, he had narcotics introduced into his system once again… It didn't feel right to say he was sober for that long while he had experienced the relaxing and overwhelming high of the drugs. He didn't consider himself 100% clean anymore, though he would never tell his Team that. The cravings had started once again, and sometimes it felt like not even Dean, Sam, Cas, and Derek could keep him away from the syringe long enough.

Which was another reason why creating a profile for Dean and Sam was such a good idea. Besides keeping his head away from the Shtriga he faced recently (How he hates those things), it would help keep his mind away from drugs.

With Garcia's help he was able to collect all the information that existed on the Winchesters (he should really teach the two brothers how to not leave a trail). He had given Rossi copies of the case files and asked his opinion on the unsub's profile ("It's clearly two different Unsubs Reid. The first case indicates to a sadist who gets off on physically torturing his victims, while in the other one you have robberies, where the torture of the hostages is more psychological and, I dare say, unintentional. Even the MOs are different; the victimology is not the same… It's not the same unsub, you should know that, Doctor.") and made his best to stay unbiased while he looked at John, Dean, and Sam's behavior (not taking Supernatural into account, of course)and created a profile of the three.

It was really shaping up to be a good presentation. He couldn't wait until he had everything ready and he could show his Team how the Winchesters were not responsible for those crimes, just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Things were really looking up… Yeah, he would arrive the next day, coffee in hand (already relieved that all his Team had passed the Holy Water Test) and present the profiles to them, clearing the Winchester name once and for all.

Or… At least that was what he hoped. Things took a very interesting and expecting twist the next morning.


	4. Chapter 4

Most of the time Spencer Reid enjoyed spending time with his boyfriend; there was nothing more comfortable then cuddling in between those big arms, watching some movie which Derek rented for them (according to the older male Spencer needed to learn a thing or two about pop culture. It was his… What did he call it? Oh yes, "Operation teaching-Spence-how-to-be-a-little-bit-more-human"). It was a great way to relax, especially after a particular difficult case (or Hunt)…

But those were not during his Doctor Who nights.

Spencer had very few, but important, rules on how one should watch Doctor Who. 1) Nothing else must be going on in the apartment, so not to distract from the episode; 2) Any conversation must be Doctor Who related, no exceptions; 3) Leave all questions to the end of the episode, so not to miss anything important (especially if it was an episode by Moffat).

And, for some unknown (and completely invalid, for nothing is ever important enough to interrupt Doctor Who) reason Derek felt the need to break all of these rules.

Moments like this Spencer was reminded why he usually watched Doctor Who either by himself or with Sam (it was actually the younger Winchester who had introduced the BAU genius to the wonderful show. At first they would watch only Classic Who, but as time went by they ran out of episodes, and were pleasantly surprised to find that the new Doctor Who was actually quite good. Dean, on the other hand… Well… He never really appreciated the show. Aliens had never made much sense to him… But somehow vampires and demons and shape-shifters did. Really, after all they've seen, he did not believe in aliens? Sometimes Spencer questioned his surrogate older brother's logic).

Was it really too much to ask not to talk about work? Or maybe keep the question on Weeping Angels until later? (and how hard was it to understand the whole concept of Quantum Lock? Even if you can't, all you need to know about them is not to blink. Ever) The comments about how Captain Jack Harness would be head-over-heels attracted to Spencer were funny at first, but now Spencer only wanted to hear the Doctor's plan while he did his thing.

No one, not even Derek Morgan, should interrupt the Doctor while he does his thing.

The young genius made a mental note to never show the BBC's version of Sherlock Holmes to his boyfriend.

"So you are telling me that the most dangerous monster in this show is the little R2D2 impersonator with a plunger?"

This was seriously getting annoying.

"First of all, Daleks were first shown in 1963, long before Star Wars was even released. Second, they are vicious aliens who have no individuality and/or emotions. They exist to obey and to kill anything that is not a Dalek. Third, it is not a plunger, it is…" He stopped speaking when he noticed the grin in Derek's face "What?"

"Nothing." He said, smiling "I just love when you talk geek, Pretty boy. It's sexy."

"I'm not talking geek." Spencer said, blushing "You are the one that is interrupting Doctor Who with stupid questions."

"Only because it is so much fun to see you getting all worked up about."

Oh… So he was doing this on purpose. He should have known; no one in his right mind would try talking while Spencer was watching Doctor Who (Dean learned his lesson years ago, and even Cas stayed quiet, watching the show with a slight wonder. Who would have thought that the Angel of Thursday was a Whovian-in-the-making?).

Just to get back at him, Spencer untangled himself from his lover's embrace, sat on the opposite side of the couch, crossed his arms, and watched the screen with a serious expression. Any attempts Derek made to get his attention were ignored for the rest of the episode.

Spencer loved Derek… But the man needed to learn his Doctor Who rules if he wanted this relationship to work.

As soon as the episode was over, Spencer stood up, stretching his arms and glancing at the clock. It was ten at night, meaning that if Spencer left now he would be able to arrive in his apartment at around eleven, and that would probably give him a few hours to go over his profile of the Winchesters and their "crimes" before presenting it for the team. He would still wake up early to this his morning drills (Spencer needed to run, practice shooting, and some fighting techniques every day. Even though his profiling skills and high IQ help him a lot during a Hunt, it was not enough to stop a Wendingo), but by doing paperwork instead of Hunting, the genius would be able to get a few extra hours of sleep.

As if reading his mind, Derek reached out and grabbed his arm. The two profilers looked at each other, both begging for different things; while Derek's eyes took the lost puppy look (which he probably learned from Clooney. No matter, Spencer grew up with Dean and Sam Winchester, the Masters of the lost-puppy-dog-look-at-me-I'm-adorable-how-can-you-say-no-to-this-face-look), Spencer's were like the ones of a mother who was tired of having this argument with her child.

"Spencer…"

"Derek, don't start" Spencer asked, trying to, gently, free his arm from his lover's grasp.

"But Spencer, come on, it's way too late for you to go back to your apartment now!" the man stood up as well, still trying to charm the younger man.

"Late?" Spencer asked with a slight smile. Oh, how Derek could amuse him while trying to get him to stay "Derek, its 10 o'clock… And I'm a full grown federal agent. I think I can take care of myself."

"But Spencer…"

"Besides, it's not like we would go to sleep right now if I stayed." Spencer continued "You never go to bed this early, and if I were here, we would be doing some very different activities in your room."

"Exactly." Now Derek was smirking. He moved his way towards Spencer's back before circling his torso with his arms and touching the younger man's neck with his lips. "Think how much fun we could have if you stayed the night."

Ah… So he was going for seduction now… Very sneak, agent Morgan. Sadly for him, it wouldn't work.

"Sorry." He gave him an apologetic smile before twisting his way out of his lover's embrace "Sounds very appealing, but I have some paperwork to do at home."

"Paperwork?" Derek frowned "Spencer, you finished today's paperwork while we were at the office."

"It's nothing official" he explained "It's a side job I'm doing some research on. While I was going over a few records something caught my eye and I decided to do a little work on it."

"And what is this revolting crime or criminal that interests my boyfriend more than spending the night with a Hot Chocolate God like myself?"

Hot Chocolate God? He's been spending a lot of time with Garcia.

"You'll find out tomorrow." Spencer answered, getting his messenger bag and putting his shoes on "I plan on showing my findings to the team."

He was now at the door, giving Clooney a goodbye pat on the head (how weird was it that this was the only dog who did not suffer from the Reid effect? See? Clooney loves you! Do you need any more proof that we are meant to be together? Who would have though Derek could be such a cheesy person?) before looking at his lover, smiling once again.

"See you tomorrow, Derek."

"See ya, Pretty Boy."

Derek leaned over and gave him a quick kiss, leaning against the door as Spencer walked away, a smile on his face. He continued to walk down the street until he heard the door closing, and then he hid himself in the shadows, like Dean had taught him many times before. He looked in the direction of his lover's house and waited for a few seconds.

Sure enough, Derek's face appeared in the window; looking at the direction he had been previously headed. It was funny, really, how Derek would always wait for him to be at the end of the street to close the door, only to check out of the window a few seconds later. It surprised the hell out of him the first time it happened. Spencer had been searching his bag for some salt when the man saw him. Although it was only salt (not a gun, silver bullets, a cross, holy water, or one of the other things he had in his "Hunting kit"), Spencer had panicked; Derek walked towards him, grabbing the bag of salt, and sniffing.

It took only half of a second for him to realize that the man suspected it to be drugs. The anger on Derek's face was enough to scare any lies out of Spencer's tongue, and he quickly blurted out:

"It's just salt."

"Is it?" he had asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes," He said, nodding quickly "Just salt."

"Why are you carrying a bag of salt with you, Spencer?"

Well, that was a tricky question. He couldn't just answer that he had because his mother, who Derek knew was a paranoid schizophrenic, always told him to carry it with him, just in case he encountered the random spirit or demon while away from home.

"I'm out of it." he said, trying his best not to look too much like a deer caught in headlights "I… I realized while making coffee for us that I had run out of salt at home, so I borrowed some of yours."

"You borrowed my salt?"

"I was going to return it eventually." Oh God, had that sounded stupid, or what?

"You were going to return my salt?"

Did he have to repeat everything Spencer said? It only made him feel even more nervous.

"You can keep it if you want it," he tried to recover "It's just salt. I can buy some in the grocery store on my way home, it shouldn't be that expensive, and it's not out of my way so…"

His plan was for Derek to see he wasn't lying, give him back the salt, and kiss him goodnight, apologizing for being so suspicious. Alas, Winchester luck rubbed off on him, and his lover just nodded, putting the bag of salt in his jeans' pocket (how the hell did it fit in there anyway? It's not like the bag was small, or Derek's pants loose and spacey).

"You do that." He said. "I'll drive you there. Come on."

Yeah, drive him there… Derek probably wanted to make sure that Spencer was not going to any dealers after this encounter.

It had not been a good night for the young genius. He spent the entire way itching to get his hand on the Holy Water, the anxiety of not having his bag of salt with him really getting to him. Like promised, Derek drove him to the store, Spencer bought some salt (no words can express how relieved he was when there was salt once again in his possession), and then was left at home.

From that day on, Spencer made sure to wait for Derek to go back to his bedroom before walking towards the house again and salting every window and entrance.

It's not like he was worried for Derek's safety (well, he was, but that's not the point); he had demon-proofed the house himself (the only other place Spencer knew that had as much protection as Derek's house was Bobby's place… And that's should say something), but it never hurt to add a little extra security, right? When it came to Derek and his Team, whom he thought of as family, no amount of protection against the Supernatural (a world they were completely unaware of) was enough.

Spencer was very protective of his Team. His first gift to his godson, Henry, had been a stuffed animal with a protection amulet inside. When JJ had asked him to set up the nursery while Will and she were in the hospital with their new son, Spencer made sure that the nursery was protected against Shtriga, fairies, and many other creatures that prayed on young children. No dangerous creature was going near his godson as long as he was alive.

For Garcia's house Spencer just gave her different amulets (colorful, so to make sure she would keep them), which she adored. Unknown to the bubbly woman, everywhere she went she had some sort of protecting charm, warning any Supernatural creatures not to mess with her. Her house was also covered in protective seals, cleverly disguised rugs or curtain patterns.

Hotch and Rossi's house had been a bit complicated; Spencer just couldn't find a good excuse to go visit them (or a good excuse to give them a gift without being too weird… Well, he was able to give some to Jack, but that only protected the younger Hotchner), and so had to do it in the course of weeks, sneaking around their homes, making sure he was not seen by anyone. After that experience Spencer had to hand it to some Unsubs; sneaking around the houses of FBI agents without raising their suspicion was pretty hard.

Lucky for him, Derek never suspected his lover to be the one salting his home. Every day he would arrive at work, complaining about some damn kids playing a stupid prank on him. When he came into the office, Prentiss would usually ask about the salt, and everyone would smirk and laugh at Derek's frustrated expression.

Spencer also laughed and smiled, but not at the fact that Derek believed he was being pranked and that the Team teased him about it; rather, he smiled because in those moments he saw a group of people, a group of people he loved, who still had some of the innocence Spencer lost all those years ago, when his mother first taught him what really hid in the dark.

He would do anything to keep them that way.

Right now, though, his mind was elsewhere. After he finished salting Derek's home, he got on the subway and started going over all the information he collected during the past few weeks (having an eidetic memory has its perks; the young genius doesn't need to check files again and again to make sure he got everything right)

Profiling the Winchesters, Spencer found, was incredibly easy (not that he was ever going to tell them that. He needed to make sure their egos were still intact, after all. Who would want to explain to Dean Winchester that even though he tried his hardest to hide his feelings he was, in fact, an open book? Doctor Spencer Reid liked the fact he was alive, thank you very much). By pushing the right buttons, one could get the most perfect reaction for the creation of an accurate profile of the brothers. By remembering the transcripts, he could see that any time someone mentioned Sam, Dean would start to lose his patience and threat whoever the officer was.

Threatening police officers… Not exactly model citizen behavior, but Spencer could work around that. It showed that Dean was protective of his family; that he would be willing to do anything to keep Sam (and if Spencer was honest, himself and Cas. But of course that wasn't going on the profile; the last thing Spencer or the Winchesters needed was someone finding out about their connection) safe. He may start doing jokes, but in the end always gets serious if Sam was mentioned.

Sam, on the other hand, always shows concern towards their "victims". He showed worry for them; not for his own safety or the fact he has been arrested. In fact, whenever the brothers were arrested, they always refused a lawyer and showed little concern towards their future.

Referring back to their past only helps the profile; John raised them on the road, going from city to city, town to town, making motels their homes. He was an ex-marine, which indicates that the family had a strong sense of discipline. It also tells Spencer (rather, The Profiler… Spencer Reid is a Profiler and a Hunter, one who loves the Winchesters with all his heart. Right now he is examining the file just as a Profiler) that the boys probably grew up with a strong sense of brotherhood; all for one and one for all. Never abandon your brothers.

And most importantly: Do anything to survive.

Going further back to the night of the fire, if one has no knowledge of the Supernatural, they can say John's avoidance of the police started there. Old friends from Lawrence testified that John Winchester was convinced someone caused the fire that killed his wife, but the police had long ruled out the idea.

His wife's death was the stressor. It led John to believe his family was being persecuted by someone. The paranoia made him and his boys live a life on the run.

Looking at those facts, the Profiler could see that the Winchesters were brothers who, due to their upbringing, valued family and survival above everything else. They did not have a stable home, their father possibly brainwashing them to believe someone wanted to kill them and that the authority was not to be trusted. Not only not trustworthy, but also not reliable. If you want something done right, do it yourself.

Also, because they were constantly on the run from someone (in reality, chasing something), John could not keep a stable job, which is why he, a marine, turned to theft. His sons, who knew no other life, also turned to crime to survive.

And that was the key word: Survive. The Winchesters did what they could for survive. They did not steal to get rich, or for the thrill of it; they did it because they believed they had no other option.

Looking at the bank robbery, witnesses claimed that Dean only started to obey the robber after a while, possibly after Sam's life was at risk. Survival; Dean obeyed the robber so he and his brother could survive the ordeal. Family; he did what he could to protect Sam. Self-reliance; Dean and Sam did not trust the police to do their job.

That, Spencer felt, was an accurate profile of the Winchesters: Survivalists who would do anything for each other and trusted no one else.

Which did not match the profile of the Shapeshifter from St. Louis. Emily, the first woman who was killed, had been brutally beaten. She was tortured before that, tied to a chair. Then there was the second woman who was tortured and killed, same MO as the previous case. And Becky, who had also been brutally attacked but survived (Thanks to the Winchesters).

Everything pointed out towards a sexual sadist. Someone who, as a child, was violent, probably the bully at school. The Unsub was most likely male. He was probably an only child, but if he did have siblings, they weren't close. In fact, he probably didn't have any healthy relationships growing up, feeling absolutely nothing towards anyone (which makes him a bit of a psychopath). Maybe during childhood he started torturing animals, finding that inflicting pain was the only way he could feel anything. When he first became sexually active, nothing but rough sex that simulated violence could get him aroused. Soon enough the simulated violence would not be enough, which was when he escalated to the real thing.

That did not match at all with the Winchester's profile.

Furthermore, Spencer could prove that Becky and Sam had gone to college together and were, in fact, friends. The Winchesters were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Yes. That could work. Spencer couldn't help but smile as he got out of the subway, his thoughts going back to everything he just processed. His Team would have no choice but to agree with what he found, and then the Winchester name would be cleared once and for all.

With that positive mindset, Spencer secured his apartment and went to sleep.

Now, Spencer is not some sort of psychic who has visions of the future (that was Sam's thing), but he certainly knew the importance of dreams… Especially when said dreams were about Missouri Mouselly, an old friend of his mother and the psychic who introduced John Winchester to the Supernatural. He would be an idiot if he didn't believe something very wrong was going to happen soon (for all he knew, Missouri had projected the dream into his mind, just like Cas did with Dean… Though, really, Spencer would rather not know what the Angel and the Hunter did in those dreams).

Which was why the first thing he did when he woke up was to pick up his phone and call her. The phone rang a couple of times before it went straight to voicemail. Strange, but then again, Spencer did get up incredibly early, so she would probably still be sleeping, right? Right (or not… She could be out, Spencer figured. Well, it was early, so maybe not out… Maybe she was travelling? Yeah, that could be it, too.). So Spencer left a quick message, asking her to call him back as soon as possible.

He went on through his morning routine, his dream (which he quite frankly wasn't even sure what was about anyway… All he remembered was that it had Missouri Mouselly in it, and that is not a lot to go on. For all he knows it could be a memory. Dreams work like that, they don't make sense. Scientists are still not sure why living creatures even dream. You would think that as a genius with an eidetic memory would be able to remember his dream… But no, the human brain did not work that way. Apparently dreams were not part of the things he could remember. He could remember files, but not dreams. Funny how life works, right?) tucked away in the back of his mind.

But even so, Spencer still ended up later for work. His morning drills had taken longer than he expected (his usual running route being obstructed by construction), which made him late for his bus, forcing him to wait an extra twenty minutes and… Well, yeah, he ended up late for work.

It was just one of those days, where everything goes wrong. Everyone is entitled to one of those every now and again, right?

Not according to his Team, apparently. As he sat down at his desk, he could feel the stares from all over the bullpen.

"Is everything okay, Reid?" Prentiss asked, her eyebrows frowning slightly.

"Yeah, why?" he asked, taking away the files from his messenger bag.

"It's just… You're never late, so I was just wondering if something happened."

That was a lie, and both of them knew it. Not the part of Prentiss wanting to know if something happened (that was certainly true), but the part that he had never been late. Spencer had been late before… When he was still taking Dilaudid.

The conversation he had with Hotch a few days prior came back to his mind. Oh God, couldn't he ever catch a break? Wait… No, he couldn't. Winchester luck, right.

"I overslept." He stated, trying to act as casual as possible "Missed my bus and had to wait twenty minutes for the next one."

"Ouch." Prentiss frowned "Bad luck."

"Very."

"Should have stayed in my house," said Derek, walking towards his desk. He had a smirk in place, but Spencer knew he was as worried and suspicious as the rest of the Team. Great. "We would have slept late due to our very sexy activities…"

"Boys, please!" Prentiss complained "I don't need to hear this"

"But I would have made sure you woke up on time." He continued, as if the woman had not spoken.

"I don't have any work clothes in your house." He said, thinking of a quick excuse "If I stayed over, I would have to either go to work with the same clothes as yesterday or we would have to go to my apartment to get new clothes, which would make the two of us late."

Not to mention he wouldn't be able to do his morning drills.

"I see no problem with you coming back with the same clothes. It's not like anyone would notice… Or care. Pretty boy, they already know what we are doing and-"

"Okay, I'm getting some coffee." Prentiss said standing up "You guys should really continue this conversation somewhere else."

"Oh, come on, Prentiss." Derek laughed "We're done, sit back down."

"You sure?" she asked "Because as much as I like the two of you, I really don't want to know what happens once you are home."

"You say that now, but you know in fact you would love to hear all the steamy details." Derek said, grinning.

"Yeah, just keep telling yourself that, Morgan." Prentiss said, smiling while shaking her head. "I'm still getting some coffee."

As she left, headed to the break room, Derek took a chance to steal her chair and roll to his side.

"So, what did you do when you got home last night?"

"Reviewed the paperwork, like I told I would." He said "What about you? Any salt to clean up this morning?"

"It's every damn day, man." Derek said, running a hand through where his hair was supposed to be "I have no idea who these brats are, but when I find them…"

Spencer laughed.

"You'll what? You can't hurt them, Derek, that would be illegal."

"True. But I can scare them." He smiled "So, what sort of criminals or crime scenes were you profiling? I have to say you got me curious, Pretty Boy."

"Well, you'll find out soon." He said, standing up and turning his body towards Hotch's office "I'm going to ask Hotch when will be more convenient to present my findings and..."

He stopped dead in his tracks. The bullpen had several small televisions tucked away in each corner (the ones that stay up against the celling, usually found in waiting rooms) displaying the news twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, even when no one was present. Right now it showed a reporter, red hair and blue eyes, standing in front of a house, with the yellow tape surrounding it.

Spencer recognized that house. It stood in Lawrence, Kansas. And when the camera turned away from the reporter to the stretcher, Spencer recognized the body, even though the EMTs quickly covered it up.

It was Missouri Mouselly. And according to the news, she had been brutally murdered in a ceremonial fashion.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 05:

Spencer met Missouri Mousely the summer after his father left. Diana had thought it would be a good idea for both of them to take a cross-country-hunting-trip; it was her way of forcing them to take their minds off what happened, or so she told Spencer.

Their first stop in this trip was Lawrence, Kansas; it was also the first and only sign Spencer needed to know that this was not exactly a cross-country-hunting-trip (having their first stop be 1316.7 miles away instead of going hunting in Arizona, Utah, Colorado, or the entire west side of Kansas made little sense, after all). He knew his mother was close friends with a woman that claimed to have psychic abilities in the small town and it didn't take a genius to put two and two together and know that Diana was after Missouri's powers, not some family bounding time.

When they arrived in the psychic's house, Spencer was greeted with a hug, followed by a small demonstration of Missouri's capabilities. He had barely stepped into the house when she started telling him not to mind his classmates ("teenagers will always be stupid, especially when they have a young genius showing them off. If they ever try anything with you, don't be afraid to fight back! And don't try to tell me you are a weakling nerd! Even without my powers I know you can put on a proper fight! Diana would never raise her children without some self-defense knowledge. And I'm betting my house that those Winchester boys have taught you a thing or two as well") before Spencer sent her a glare, clearly telling her to shut up, for his mother had no idea of the things that happened in school (neither did Sam and Dean, but that wasn't important at the moment). She had enough problems of her own to deal with and didn't need Spencer's bullying to add even more stress to her life.

Thankfully Missouri got the idea and changed topics (Spencer's mom had been distracted, and so she heard nothing that the psychic had accidently revealed). She fed both Reids and showed where Spencer would sleep, guessing correctly (though really, anyone could have figured that one out) that the 11 year old would be tired after an 18 hour and 37 minute drive.

Spencer's mom read him one of Spencer's favorite stories; the Arthurian legend where Sir Gareth came to Camelot disguised as a kitchen boy and eventually became a Knight of the Round Table. She kissed him good night before leaving the room, claiming she wanted to catch up with her friend before she went to sleep as well.

Of course, Spencer did not believe this for a second. As soon as he heard his mother descending the stairs, he swung his legs around and got off of the bed, quietly following his mother to the kitchen, where Missouri sat in a table, a cup of hot chocolate in her hands and another right across from her, where Diana sat down.

"Did you really have to drive all the way here to see a psychic, Diana?" Missouri asked.

"I don't trust anyone else." The professor said "You are my friend, and this is a very important matter, and I know you wouldn't lie to me," She paused, before looking Missouri in the eye "I know you will tell me the truth, not what I want to hear."

"The future is a messy thing." The other woman answered "What I see happening right now may not be what actually happens."

"But it will be." Diana persisted "You told me long ago that as long as the person doesn't know about the future and doesn't actively do anything to change it, then it is completely decided."

"Not true, Diana." Missouri said "There are many paths to the future. Many different ways our tomorrow may go. I can only see the one with the most chances of happening, and yes, while the chances of it happening are large if no one does anything to change it, there is a possibility, however small, of another path being paved."

"But what do you see now?" Diana asked "What is the future telling you now, Missouri? Will… Will he come back to us?"

Spencer frowned when he heard the question. His mother had tried to remain strong since his father left but… But she couldn't hide anything from him. He knew how much his father had hurt her, how much his abandonment had scarred her. At that moment a burning flame of anger sparked in his chest. He tried to control his breathing, naming every country in reversed alphabetic order, but it didn't work. The broken tone in which his mother, his strong mother that was feared by the Supernatural world, used to inquire about the bastard that left them still rang inside his head.

"I'm sorry, Diana." The psychic said, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, but I don't see him coming back. Not tomorrow, not in a yet, not ever."

Spencer felt like punching something at that moment (though really, that wouldn't be smart… It would give away his position, and he didn't want to explain to his mother why he was spying on her private conversation with her friend), but instead took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

"What I'm going to tell Spencer?" Diana asked, running a hand through her hair.

"I wouldn't worry that much about him." Missouri said "He's a strong boy; he will handle the situation in his own way. I'm worried about you right now."

As she said that to his mother, Missouri looked at Spencer and, for a brief second, their eyes met. He sighed before standing up and heading towards his room. He knew that Missouri was asking for some privacy, and that she wanted to talk to him, later on, as well.

When Spencer woke up the next morning his mother had already left for her usual morning jog. As he descended the stairs, he could smell the strong and unmistakable scent of black coffee and (was it blueberry?) pancakes.

It was a pleasant surprise, walking into the kitchen and having breakfast already cooked and served. Since Diana worked in a University (and when she was at home she was either preparing both of them for a hunt, working on a lecture, or having one of her episodes) Spencer was usually the one to prepare the meals. It was not something he loved doing, but neither did he hated it; cooking, to him, was something that needed to be done one way or another, much like warding a house. He only came to appreciate his abilities in the kitchen later on in life, when he discovered the way to a man's heart is indeed through their stomach. Whenever Derek was mad with him, Spencer found that a romantic meal would always make the older agent forget whatever was upsetting him (he even broke his "no salt" rule at times when Derek was really angry. Growing up as a Hunter taught the young genius to value and respect the power of the white mineral; to use it in perfectly-eatable-even-when-unsalted-food was simply unthinkable! His Team believed he just had a natural sweet tooth, and while that was a truthful statement, Spencer's affinity towards sweets came from the habit of never wasting salt.)

"Good morning, Spencer." Missouri had said, pouring the hot coffee into the mug "I have already placed the sugar on the table, so use as much as you'd like. Your mother is off jogging, but you already knew that, right? Here, you sit there, make yourself comfortable, boy."

"Thank you." Spencer had said in a low voice, carefully pouring sugar in his coffee and occasionally looking at the psychic, just to make sure he wasn't overstepping his boundaries.

"You won't be thanking me when we finish breakfast." She said, serving him four big pancakes, more than double of what Spencer would usually eat "Now, I understand you not wanting to tell Diana about your problems at school. That's your choice, and I even though I think it is a very dumb one" she ignored Spencer's frown "I'll respect it."

"Thanks… I guess." The entire time she was working on her own plate, stacking pancake on top of pancake, buttering like you would spread concrete in between each brick, and once her tower was finally finished, pouring so much syrup that would cause any other person to be nauseous.

"Which is why" she went on "we are going to talk about it now." She paused, finally looking at him "I want to know why you don't defend yourself against those bullies! Diana, John, and both the Winchester boys have taught you enough self-defense that you could kill any of those kids with your bare hands!"

"I don't want to draw more attention to myself" he explained, trying to cut a small piece of his own breakfast "It's bad enough that I'm a ten year old High School sophomore. I don't need to give them another reason to alienate me. Besides, I don't want to get into trouble."

"It would be self-defense, Spencer!" She said "They can't punish you if you were just protecting yourself! Show them a quarter of your abilities and they'll never bother you again!"

"I would get their attention, though" he chewed slowly, thinking over his next words "I don't want that. I want to go through life unnoticed."

"What about friends?"

"Unnoticed and unattached." He shrugged "I got Sam and Dean… I don't need anybody else. The best life for a Hunter is one in which there are not a lot of people tying them down."

It's not that people leave and hurt you; it's just that Hunters can't be tied down… Or at least, that's what he liked to tell himself when he was younger. He avoided people because getting attached was inconvenient in his line of work… It took Gideon's abandonment for him to realize the real reason why he turned people away. Even today, though, part of him will still try to cling to that lie that said he was just being practical, not fearful.

"And that is all you want to be? A Hunter? Nothing else?"

The question, of course, had caught him by surprise. He had never before considered the possibility of being anything but a Hunter. In that moment Spencer thought of Sam, and how the older boy would often argue with his father over his decision to go to college. He remembered Dean stopping their archery lessons to tell Sam to just "drop the damn book and do something useful". Sam would get defensive, and soon the brothers would be arguing, leaving Spencer to watch the fight from the Impala, too afraid of being dragged into the dispute (while he understood Sam's thirst for knowledge, he also related to Dean's confusion over Sam even considering a life outside of hunting).

To do anything else was, back then, as unthinkable as seasoning food with perfectly good salt.

"Of course." Spencer had answered, without missing a beat "What else is there? I mean… Once you know about all of these things, you can't just ignore it! What else could I possibly do?"

"You are a very intelligent and capable boy, Spencer. There are many options out there. I can see that your future will be… Not bright, for you will suffer and see things, horrible things, that no being, no Hunter, should ever see… But it will be a successful future all the same."

"I thought you weren't supposed to tell people their future."

"What I'm telling you won't change anything, and it's true for all of your possible futures." She said, waving her hand dismissively "But I want you to remember this, Spencer: You will do amazing things, and you will have amazing friends; friends, and a lover as well, who will support you and be by your side no matter what." She grabbed his hand, and Spencer had to suppress the urge of pulling away"When they come, do not shut yourself in."

Eleven years after that conversation Spencer joined the BAU. Three years later, after the Tobias incident, Spencer finally came to terms that his Team were the friends Missouri spoke of that day. He called her as soon as he got home, and the two talked. He almost considered revealing the truth about his other job to his Team, the friends who had become so special to him, but his addiction convinced him to do otherwise.

He called Missouri again when Gideon left and when he (finally, in her opinion) got together with Derek. She was a dear friend, one whose opinion he valued.

And now she was dead.

The news said something about ceremonial, satanic (he would really appreciate if people stopped throwing around that word for anything that was slightly out of the ordinary) killing. Brutal murder, there was also something they mentioned.

Spencer's genius brain was already working over the little information he was given. Ceremonial and satanic, and they said something about writings and symbols on the walls. That was not something the killer did, but Missouri herself; she was trying to stop whatever it was from coming into her house. While this was just a deduction, Spencer could rule out werewolves, for the full moon was still a few days away and even if it were one the killing would be described as animalistic. That also ruled out Wandigos, though really, it would be extremely unlikely for one of them to be in Lawrence (though considering Sam and Dean did find one wondering outside their usual habitat, Spencer could not get rid of the possibility just because the location didn't fit. You create theories to suit facts, not facts to suit theories). No mentions of webs, so Arachnes were probably out (he would need to actually see the crime scene to make sure of that), and a simple Acheri would not scare Missouri so much that she would send him messages via dreams or need to ward her house to heavily. She had no children, so Changelings were out (and Spence doubted Missouri would not have been able to deal with one if it were roaming the neighborhood), and Ghouls were out for the same reason as Werewolves. Missouri would never invite a Rakshasa or a Vampire into her home, so those possibilities could be eliminated as well.

As he continued on through his list, Spencer could eliminate many creatures, but unfortunately, those were the more rare kind. Witches, ghosts (every possible type), demons (not counting Acheris, but including every other type of demon), leviathans (oh God, please, let it not be a leviathan), reapers, shape shifters (though not skinwalkers), wraiths (unlikely), sirens (very unlikely)… The possibilities were still endless!

"Reid? Reid!" Emily's voice snapped him out of his thought process, reminding him that he was still at work "You okay? You got pale, all of the sudden."

"What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. No worries. I just… hum…" he quickly thought of an excuse "Haven't had enough coffee! You know, waking up late and everything, just had a quick drink, not nearly enough for me."

"You sure?" she asked, still concerned.

"Yes. I'll actually go get some right now. Do you want some?" before she could answer, Spencer was already out of the bullpen area and heading towards the coffee room.

He breathed a sigh of relief when entering the room and finding it empty. Spencer then quickly set out to make the coffee before pulling out his cellphone and hitting the speed dial that called Sam and Dean's current phone.

"Dude, do you have any idea what time it is?" Dean's voice asked from the other end of the line "I get angels showing up early in the morning because they are all dicks, sorry Cas, but you should know better, Spence!"

"Dean, this is important." Spencer said.

"Well, it can wait. We just finished a hunt with a freakin' Davea, of all freakin' things, and then Sammy was bitching about somethin' and wouldn't shut up until I got Cas to work his mojo and put the moose to sleep, and after that I was too awake to sleep and horny and…"

"Dean, it's important." Spencer repeated "Someone was killed."

That got his attention. He could hear the older man sitting up and calling his brother and lover, then putting him on the speaker (with Sam's help, of course. Spencer could hear Dean cussing in the background complaining about fancy phones for stupid geek giants).

"What happened?" he asked, once everyone seemed to have settled down.

"Missouri, you remember her, right?" he waited for them to answer the question before proceeding "She was killed sometime last night."

"What?" Sam asked.

"Son of a bitch!" Dean, obviously.

"Who is Missouri?" And there goes Cas.

"How did that even happen?" Sam asked "She…I mean…"

"I'm not sure yet." Spencer glanced towards the coffee maker and then at the door "It's on the news though. Brutally killed with, get this, circles and other markings around the house."

"Wards?" Cas asked "So she… This Missouri… Was trying to keep something out…"

"That's what I think." Spencer agreed, turning away from the door "I can't say what yet though, I haven't seen the crime scenes pictures."

"Can you get them?" Dean asked "I know you are fancy FBI agent with real credential and stuff, but don't you have to be invited or something?"

"I know someone in the Lawrence's police who is aware of… Well, you know." While Spencer was sure no one was overhearing him, looking over his shoulder to find his Team glancing towards the coffee room with worried expressions "He got involved in a case my mom, Missouri and I worked on together."

"And you sure he can give you the information we need?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I'm… I'm pretty sure." He nodded to himself "I'll call you guys again as soon as I know something."

"You better make this your priority, Spence." Dean said "Missouri is not the first Hunter to be killed by something she was hunting this week."

That got his attention.

"What do you mean? Who… Who else died?"

"Tamara, a hunter we met a while back." Sam explained "Her body was found completely mutilated, and right close to it were some demon wards."

"You're kidding."

"We're dead serious. No… No pun intended." Dean said "Okay, maybe a bit intended, but that's not the point!"

Trust Dean to tell a joke when the situation was serious. It was endearing, the way he tried to lighten up the mood… Though right now Spencer had little time for that, at any second someone may come in and it would be best if this conversation were to be over by that point.

"Do you guys have any picture of those crime scenes?" he asked.

"Sadly we don't." Sam sighed.

"Okay… That's fine. I'll… I'll call the police station; say it's part of a study the BAU is doing." Spencer sighed "Where was it again?"

"Around Minnesota." Sam answered "Cas, can you get those papers over at the desk? Yeah, thanks" he paused shuffling through the pages "Yeah, hum… Pike Bay Township, I think… Not a lot of people there."

"We were actually thinking about heading up there, even though we're kind of far" said Dean.

"I'll give them a call." He nodded to himself again "Thanks."

There was a silence on the other end of the line.

"You… You sure everything is okay, Spence?" oh, dear Dean, always the concern big brother.

"Yeah, everything is fine, it's just…" without even realizing, Spencer started to mess up his hair and pace from one side of the small room to another "I just can't believe she's dead."

"We know, kid." Sam said, trying to be comforting "It… It never gets easier; no matter how many times it happens."

"I wish it did." Spencer let out a bitter smile "You three… Be… Be careful, okay?"

"We will." Cas replied, this time.

"You too, Spence." Dean said.

As he ended the call Spencer took a deep breath and reached out for the coffee and the sugar. What was supposed to be a great day, the day he finally cleared the Winchester's name, turned into a complete nightmare (Winchester Luck, right? He wasn't even a real blood-related-Winchester!). He would probably have to stay after everyone left so he could break into JJ's office and take a look at the files she received in the last couple of days. He would also need to spend the night going over all the information and try to profile whatever it was that killed Missouri… Good thing it was Friday…

Oh, shit; it was Friday. Winchester Luck indeed, huh? Derek no doubt had some romantic dinner planned for them at his home (like he does every Friday, and while it is very sweet, it can be incredibly inconvenient when you have a second full time job you need to hide from your profiler boyfriend. It also felt a little weird, considering Spencer usually cooked for the two of them, but according to Derek, he didn't want to be spoiled, and so Friday became their Derek-in-the-kitchen-preparing-a-romantic-and-slightly-burned-but-it's-the-thought-that-counts-meal), and Spencer couldn't possibly skip that without rising suspicion. The Team already feared that he started using again, and bailing on his special tradition with his lover would definitely raise some red flags.

Maybe he could try pulling an all-nighter; get the information during normal work hours and then look over it at home. Yeah, that could work, but how would he do it without drawing attention to himself?

"Spence?" the voice snapped out of his thoughts. He turned around quickly to see Derek by the door of the coffee room, arms crossed and brows frowned in worry "Is everything okay, man?"

"Hum…" While Spencer knows his work at the FBI certainly helps Hunters, especially Sam and Dean, a lot, sometimes he wished he had picked the unit that wasn't trained to see straight through lies "Not really, but…"

"You knew the woman, right?" Derek asked "The one they are talking about in the news? Missouri?"

"I-I did... H-How much did you hear? F-From the conversation, I mean…" he asked in return.

"Just the end." He raised an eyebrow at his question but let it go, making his way towards the genius "How did you know her?"

"She was a friend of my mother's…." he said, looking down at his coffee "We… We used to visit her sometimes during the summer, after my father left us."

"Oh, Pretty Boy…" Derek's embrace was comforting, warm, and secure. For that second he allowed himself to forget the coffee in his hand, the fact that he was a Hunter, and that there was something incredibly evil and powerful out there that had killed one of the best psychics Spencer knew. In that moment he let himself grieve for his friend, allowed his boyfriend, the man he loved with all his heart, to comfort him in his time of need.

"It's just… I never imagined she would… die… like that." He said, arms now warped around the darker man, coffee set aside.

"We never do, Spencer." Derek said, his voice smoothing, one of his hands cradling the back of his head and caressing his hair.

"How… How did she even die like that?" Spencer asked himself "Of all the people, she…"

"There are some evil bastards out there, Spencer." Now he backed away slightly to look him in the eyes "We have seen the worst of human nature with this job, and we never think it's going to happen with someone we care for, but when it does…" he sighed "I'm sorry you have to go through this."

"Sorry won't bring her back, though."

"No, no it won't," Derek sighed "Do you want to take the day off? I'm sure Hotch would understand if you explained the situation and…"

"No." Spencer answered quickly. "I, I want to work. It will help me get my mind off of it."

"Are you sure?" he had that signature raised eyebrow that told Spencer he did not agree 100% with the genius' choice.

"Yes." He said, nodding, grabbing the mug once again and taking a sip of his coffee, trying to smile reassuringly. "I'm sure."

"Okay, then." Derek put an arm around his waist before leaving the coffee room "Let's go do some boring paper work."

As they arrived at Spencer's desk, Derek hesitated, standing there and watching as his lover started to set up his work station.

"What?" he asked, frowning slightly.

"If you need anything, anything at all, don't hesitate to go to my office, okay, Spence?" asked the older agent. "If you just feel like you need to take a break or…"

"I will." Spencer nodded. "Thanks."

Derek smiled slightly before heading towards his office. Spencer let out a slight sigh when his lover was finally out of sight. Now he needed to figure out how to get all of those files.

Spencer judged that it would take roughly an hour for him to be able to go to the bathroom without anyone getting suspicious. While waiting for the right moment he went over everything that happened this morning. He may be able to call the police chief in Lawrence and the police station in Pike Bay, but that still left the problem of breaking into JJ's office. Usually he would go over the case files she received in the morning, and it only took about five minutes (Spencer was so grateful that he was a speedy reader), but in the middle of the day it wouldn't be nearly as easy. It was really important that he looked over every major case in the country right now; if something was hunting Hunters, than Missouri and Tamara were probably not the only ones to be killed.

Just as suspected, no one blinked an eye when he headed towards the bathroom. He made sure that there wasn't anyone in the stalls before pulling out his cellphone. Lawrence would be the first; better get the easy one over with already.

"That was fast." The man, Chief Officer Strand, said as he answered the phone "How are you doing, kid?"

"Okay under the circumstances." Spencer replied, frowning a bit over the casualness of the man's tone. Yes, Spencer had him in his contacts, just like he had the number of every person he ever met who was aware of the Supernatural World, but that didn't mean they were exactly friends. Except for the occasional nod of acknowledgement Spencer got when he and his mother visited Missouri after that first summer, the only interaction he ever had with Chief Officer Strand, back then just Officer Strand, was during that hunt he got himself mixed in. "How is everything there?"

"Bloody and messy. Lots of salt spilled and weird drawings on the floors and walls." The officer replied "Definitely your ally."

"That's what I thought." Spencer sighed "Can you send me some pictures of the crime scene? Just so I can have an idea of what killed her?"

"Sure thing." He replied, and Spencer could almost picture him nodding "You coming down here to kill this monster?"

"Not likely. I'm in Virginia, I can't take time off from my work like that without raising suspicion." He took a deep breath "But I know some good Hunters who will take care of it."

"No."

"But they…!"

"No, Spencer." Strand said "The only people I allow to mess with my investigations are Missouri, you, and your mother, and that is only when we are dealing with those monsters and only under my supervision."

Oh, Spencer remembered that. Even after finding out that they were dealing something that wasn't human, Officer Strand kept trying to lead the hunt.

"I know, but I trust these guys and…"

"Well, I don't." Strand said "If you are not going to hunt this thing, then I will. I'll still send you the files so you can help me out, but no outsiders allowed!"

And with that he turned off his cellphone. Spencer sighed before ending the call himself and dialing the phone number for the Pike Bay police. Hopefully it would go better than this last call.

It didn't. Not surprisingly the police officer was suspicious about a random person calling claiming to be the FBI. After having to prove that he indeed was Doctor Spencer Reid from the Behavior Analysis Unit, the genius then had to explain why he was interested in the case (even after years of working with the BAU it always annoyed him when police stations were resistant to assist them. He may understand the hesitation in this case since he was the one doing the calling, but usually the police stations were the ones asking them for help, and then they were skeptical of any suggestions he and his Team had to offer. Honestly, it got on his nerves after a while).

The lie he told seem to be believable enough, though. Just like he told Sam and Dean he would do, Spencer told the police officer that the BAU was doing a study on crimes that appear to involve some sort of ritual. They were taking various cases from various different years, some closed and some still open, and the case of Tamara Chiekize would be a great addition to this study that would eventually help law enforcers everywhere to better understand the enemy.

The files would be emailed to his work address, just as the photos of Missouri's murder. Now all Spencer had to do was figure out a way to break into JJ's office in the middle of the workday, look at all the cases in her desk, (though thanks to eidetic memory he wouldn't need to make copies of it) and do so without suspicion.

It was indeed a great day.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry it took me this long to update, and I wish I could have given you a decent chapter, but unfortunately you are stuck with this piece of crap. I’m not gonna lie, this fanfic is incredibly hard to write, and I hate each and every chapter. The writing style is not one I’m used to, not one that I like using it either. When I started this, it was meant to be a oneshot, and the style seemed to fit my intentions for the story… But as it became a multi-chaptered, I felt that, for the sake of consistency, I needed to maintain the writing style of the first chapter… I thought it would be easy, and a good exercise too, but it’s not, and every chapter makes me really unsatisfied with the work I upload. This, I think, it’s the main reason why I take so long to update: Writing this story is not exactly enjoyable, even though I love reading your reviews and seeing a lot of people enjoy this story,
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I’ll try to update as soon as possible! Please review, they motivate me to keep going!

Getting the files he needed was easier than Spencer had originally expected. As he sat in his desk, going through the pictures that were sent to him, JJ appeared and asked Spencer if he could (once he was finished with what he was doing, of course. JJ, unlike Prentiss, Rossi, and even Derek, always waited until the young genius was finished with his work before trying to give him something extra) complete some of her files for her and take them to Hotch at the end of the day. She had just received a call from Will and needed to leave early, not even having the time to take said files home or give them to Hotch. Spencer had just smiled and said he would do it, for her not to worry about it and head home where Will and Henry were waiting for her. She had thanked him and told him, to his disbelief, that the files were inside her office and he could just go in and take them and then lock it up afterwards.

The timing of this request, the request itself, couldn't have been more perfect! Now Spencer had the perfect excuse to go inside his friend's workspace and look through all the files of unsolved cases that requested his Team's assistance.

Could his Winchester luck (the one he apparently acquired after becoming an honorary Winchester years ago) have finally turned around?

Of course not. Spencer should have known better.

When he entered JJ's office, it didn't take him long to get started on his mission. First he set out to look at the pile of possible cases for his Team. He wasn't sure if he should be surprised or not by the quantity he found; while the BAU tried to focus on crimes with extreme levels of brutality and/or unusualness, an exceeding number of victims, or cases that required urgent action (kidnappings, national threats, things of the likes), local officials tended to send them cases that had a slight hint of some fanaticism with the occult, even if there had only been one victim, and the "occult" element in the crime scene was a mere pentagram (People really should stop making random assumptions and do some research on the subject… Or maybe not… Ignorance on the subject did make the secrecy part of a Hunter's job much easier). The police, especially those of small towns, tended to get nervous around the subject, usually imagining they were dealing with some cult or someone who with a mental illness and severe delusions… It took time for the Team to explain that the Unsub was most likely someone who either wanted to freak out the police (and did so with extreme success) to get them off their tracks, or that it was some sort of teenage act of rebellion (Spencer was always sure that his Team never got to hear about the cases that involved Hunters or people with some knowledge of the Supernatural)… Then there were those who were just trying to call out for attention, and found that doing something that would be considered sinister would work splendidly for their cause (and once again, they were right, for the police did call the FBI, and, really, isn't that attention enough?).

That being said, he was thankful, not for the first time, of his super-speed-reading-abilities, as both Derek and Dean liked to call it. He scanned each file, searching for names he was familiar with, and pictures of wards drawn around the house. It took a while, but eventually he was able to find everything he was looking for, put them inside his messenger bag, and got out of JJ's office, like nothing had happened, locking it just as the woman had asked. No one around had even raised an eyebrow.

It was too good to be true. He had just sat back on his desk when Hotch came out of his own office, with his usual frown and serious expression. To most people the chief of Spencer's Team, Aaron Hotchner, would seem like an expressionless, maybe even emotionless, man; one who was impossible to read. However, Spencer, just like the rest of the Team, had, not only an incredible training on reading people's behaviors (Sam and Dean liked to call him a lie-detector-human-machine, which, if he was honest, was not far from the truth… That was the job a profiler, after all), but also years and years of knowing said "expressionless and emotionless" man. Spencer knew how to read Hotch clearly, and to him his chief's thoughts and feelings was as easy to see as if he were smiling from ear-to-ear, or crying like a little child. He and his Team knew what each and every one of Hotch's micro expressions (which were even harder to spot than in most people) meant, and they didn't even need to look for it. One look, one quick glance, and they would know what Hotch was feeling.

Which is why Spencer stopped what he was doing right away when he saw the Unit Chief approach his desk. He was frowning in a way that showed slight displease, but his eyes also revealed a bit of concern. Last time he worn that look around Spencer he had asked him about abusing drugs, and after the morning he had that was the last thing the genius Hunter wanted to talk about.

Although his eyes were focused on the older man now in front of him, he could see Derek heading out of Hotch's office, looking at Spencer with an apologetic smile.

"Reid." He said, his voice softer than Spencer was used to (though not soft at all, to those who were not used to Hotch's kindness).

"Hey," Spencer tried to smile "If this is about JJ's office, she asked me to go there and…"

"Don't worry about that." Hotch said. "Can you come into my office? I want to talk to you in private."

Of course, while that was phrased like a request, Spencer knew that what he really meant was "Come into my office right away. I need to talk to you, and I'm not taking no for an answer."

Spencer always thought that when Hotch said that he sounded like a principal talking to a troublesome student, ready to call the parents if said talk did not go well.

The two agents stepped inside the office, Spencer first so Hotch could close the door behind him. The young genius couldn't help but feel a bit anxious in the presence of his boss. After seeing Derek, he knew that this conversation would most likely not end well. Did Derek still suspect him to be using drugs? Yes, his behavior the previous night had been weird and… Oh, did Derek think that the reason why Spencer refused to spend the night was so he could buy and use drugs? Certainly now his lover would be worried; the death of a beloved could always push an addict (for Spencer knew that a person, even after stopping the usage of drugs or alcohol, would never stop being an addict; the craving would always be there, and they would forever be constantly fighting those urges) back to their old ways. It was often a stressor for serial killers, the final straw that made them snap… But of course, addicts went back to drugs. Spencer had even confessed that he almost relapsed when he believed Prentiss was dead. Certainly Derek would be suspicious, especially because he never spent the night at his home.

How was he going to get out of this one?

"Spencer, please, sit down." Said Hotch, gesturing towards the chair. He called him by his first name… Even though his Team was like his family, they all referred to each other (well, with the exception of Derek, now that they were dating, and JJ) by their last names… The usage of first names was often meant as a sign of affection and worry; it usually happened when someone had witnessed something incredibly awful, injured themselves or someone else.

"Actually… I… I rather stand." He said. Standing meant less time talking about whatever it was Hotch wanted to talk about.

"Are you sure?" the older man asked, and there was a slight raise of one of his eyebrows.

"Pretty sure." He said, nodding slightly to himself.

"All right; I'll get straight to the point then." Hotch said. There was barely a second of silence before he continued "Morgan told me what happened, Reid."

Well, that could be many things, couldn't it? Hopefully he didn't say anything about that salt incident, or else this conversation would be about Hotch sending him to rehab.

"W-what happened…?" he let the sentence linger, hoping for a more precise explanation, so he could come up with a better lie.

"About your friend from Kansas."

Oh. Missouri… In his worry over being (wrongly) accused of doing drugs again he almost forgot about her, and how he was in JJ's office in order to find out what took that wonderful woman away from this world. It didn't seem real… Not really… Part of him expected his phone to ring and Missouri to be on the other line, saying he should stop worrying so much, that nothing could kill her that easily (because of course she could tell if he was worried over something, even if she was far away). She would then make some inappropriate comment about his relationship with Derek, and because of her powers, she would just know that Spencer was all red and tease him more, saying he was all grown up now.

But who was he kidding? Missouri was dead; as was Tamara, and countless of other Hunters that have been dropping like flies. Across the world those with knowledge of the Supernatural have been brutally killed in an alarming rate. Spencer only needed a quick glance at the files in his desk to see understand more whatever these things were. He would profile them and, when possible, send that information to Sam and Dean so they could put an end to it once and for all.

Yet killing it would not bring Missouri back. Never would he see the woman who had been almost like a second mother to him; the woman who knew all of his secrets and guarded them as closely as she did her own. No, Missouri was dead and gone, never to come back.

And by whatever god was out there, he was going to miss her so much.

"She… She was my mother's friend." He found himself saying "We would go to the house almost every summer. She helped me out, taking care of mom because of her condition and…"

"You don't have to explain it to me if you don't want to, Spencer." Hotch's voice was as gentle and soft as his gaze. If there was ever a doubt in the young genius mind that Hotch was more than just his boss, that he was also his friend, that doubt would have gone away right then. "I understand it must be very difficult for you."

Spencer didn't say anything; he simply looked down, finding his shoes much more appealing than the idea of Hotch seeing his almost tears (Too much time with Dean left him somewhat ashamed of crying and showing weakness as well… Or maybe it was just the way Hunters were; showing of weakness was dangerous when the creature you were hunting things that could somehow use that weakness against you)

"Take the rest of the day off." Hotch finally said "It's Friday; spend the afternoon at home, or maybe fly to Kansas for the weekend… Whatever you need to do to mourn. I can also give you another week off, if you need."

Well, that one he didn't see coming at all. What was going on with his luck? It seemed like just today it changed about five times.

"Are you sure?" he asked, because, really, what were the chances that life would give him exactly what he needed at the right time?

"Positive." The Unit Chief said "You need this time off. Go home, and I'll ask Morgan to join you as soon as possible. I would send him back with you right now, but since JJ is already gone, we'll need him for most of the day."

"T-thank you." Spencer smiled, before remembering JJ's request; he still had the files in his desk, and although they weren't his priority, he still wanted to help out his friend "I have some of JJ's file on my desk and…"

"Give them to Prentiss. I'm sure she can handle whatever it is." He paused, before his voice softened even more "Go home, Spencer. You really look like you need some rest."

"Thank you." He smiled, and excused himself out of the office.

He quickly packed his things, gave Prentiss the files JJ needed done (Prentiss had looked at him surprised, eyebrows raised in a silent question; but when Spencer signaled to Hotch's office, she understood the message and put the files in her pile, giving a defeat sigh).

Derek met him at the elevator door, and escorted him to the outside of the building.

"I'll stop by your place as soon as Hotch lets me out, okay?" he said, looking at him in the eyes with a tenderness that Spencer knew he did not deserve.

"Okay… Thanks…" He tried to smile, tried to appear calm, but once more the reality of the situation hit him; Missouri was dead, and not even finding her killer would bring her back.

"Hey…" his voice was as gentle as his gaze, and as he cupped Spencer's cheek, it took all of the young genius' will power not cry right then and there "I know this is hard for you… I'll make us dinner tonight, and then we'll talk about everything… or not talk about anything at all… Whatever you prefer, Pretty Boy."

Spencer smiled at the nickname that once bothered him so much; he never thought of himself as attractive, so when Derek first called him that, he believed it to be his way of mocking Spencer's thin figure and long hair. Every time Derek called him that Spencer would remember his days in high school, when jocks would bully him for being so weak (or at least, that's what they thought. Spencer knew how to fight, and could probably have defended himself and sent each and every one of his tormentors to the hospital, but that was the last thing he needed). He remembered looking at Sam and Dean, and wishing he had the same imposing and masculine features as the two; the one that made men and women look at them with hunger and desire. He remembered Ethan, and how for a long time he wondered if he had looked more masculine, more like a proper Hunter and a future FBI agent, then maybe Ethan would not have left to New Orleans, leaving him to carry the burden of Two Worlds on his own.

Those were silly fears, stupid insecurities that plagued Spencer's mind every day of his life. It wasn't until he and Derek finally got together that Spencer started to enjoy the nickname, loving how to Derek it mattered not that his arms were too thin and his hair too long. Rather than a reminder of all his insecurities, the nickname was now a reassurance that he needed not to change his physical appearance to be accepted and loved by the one he cared for the most.

And now, as the nickname slipped from Derek's lips, and the older agent placed a gentle kiss in Spencer's own, he couldn't help but feel guilty about all the secrets he kept from the man before him; the man who was so willing to give up his life for him. It made Spencer feel horrible, for he knew he did not deserve Derek's love (and once more all those insecurities returned, and he remembered Ethan once more, and feared that the day would come when Derek would leave him as well), but not horrible enough to tell the truth. Spencer was born, raised, and trained in the world of the Hunters; the world of Sam, Dean, Cas, Bobby, Ethan, Missouri, and even his mother… That was a World Derek and his Team did not belong to. His Team already dealt with enough pain, the single World they lived in was dark and complex even without the added responsibility of those with Supernatural abilities. Yes, it may difficult, painful even, but Spencer must be the only one two carry both Worlds on his shoulders; he was the only one properly trained to handle them, after all.

And so, he accepted Derek's kiss, the kiss that sought to comfort him, and left with a small smile. He walked towards the bus stop (occasionally looking behind, to see if Derek had already returned to work), and made his journey back home.

As soon as he got home, Spencer cleared the dinner table and spread all his files across it, along with a picture of a map of North America. He grabbed a few pens and started marking the location, date, and name of each of the Hunters that had been killed in the past two months. Next, he grabbed a notebook, and started taking notes on each of the crime scenes, putting the available pictures together with it. His next task was to highlight any and all similarities in the crime scenes; after looking over the autopsy reports, he did the same to them. All and all, it looked a lot like what he might do with his Team in a regular case, though Spencer knew it wouldn't remain that way for long.

As soon as those info facts were organized, Spencer could eliminate some creatures from the list. Sulfur and salt were present in almost all of the scenes, and that, compiled with the drawings that were also found in the crime scenes gave Spencer a pretty good idea of what they were dealing with. Yet, just to make sure, he checked online the weather patterns for each of the locations, and sure enough, the weather in those locations not only had been abnormal, but the houses located near the crime scenes that electrical malfunction.

There was no doubt in Spencer's mind that they were dealing with demons.

Which, of course, only complicated things. Most Supernatural creatures had patterns to their killings, and once you figured out that pattern, you could easily figure out their next victim and stop them. They did not put a lot of thought into their killing either; ghosts went after people who either had something to do with their deaths, or did something related to it; vampires killed for the blood, nothing else; and werewolves were hardly in control of their own minds during the full moon. Demons were different, though. Their actions were more human-like then Spencer liked to admit. They killed for the fun of it, or, sometimes, because they had some sort of scheme and needed those deaths. Demons planned, they could be motivated by many things, and their killings were as varied as the demons themselves.

And in this case, the killings, all of which had been of well-known Hunters, told Spencer that whatever the demon (or demons, for it could well be that there were more than one working together) was planning on doing something big, and those Hunters were in the way.

Eliminate the enemy before going through with the plan… That seemed to be the strategy they were taking. Not a bad one either, if Spencer was honest.

Now all Spencer needed to do was figure out who these demons were, and where to find them.

Going back to his notebook, Spencer wrote down the information on the weather and electrical malfunctions, as a note to remind himself (well, remind Sam and Dean, whom he was going to give all these info to) to keep an eye out on abnormal weather and power surges with no apparent cause. Next, he started to get into more detail on each of the Hunters, trying to figure out a pattern, and perhaps see if these Hunters had dealt with these particular demons in the past.

Like most of his other findings, that information had been easy to find. These Hunters had been mostly stationary, like Missouri. Unlike Sam and Dean, they stayed mostly in the same area, which meant they were easy targets. After the death of her husband, Tamara had settled down in a small town in Florida, and hunted around the area.

While this meant Dean and Sam were safe for now, it also meant that people like Bobby, Ethan, and Spencer's mom were at risk.

Before he could reach the phone to dial them, though, someone knocked on the door. A quick glance to the wall clock revealed Spencer had been working at this for a few hours, and that it was about time Derek arrived, considering Hotch was going to let him leave early.

"One second!" he said, before putting all the pictures, files, and folded map inside the notebook. He set it aside, putting it close to some of his books, hoping that this would make it look less suspicious, and looked around the apartment to make sure everything was in order.

Satisfied with his work, he quickly opened the door to let his lover enter the apartment.

Like promised, Derek decided made dinner for both of them, but not before asking Spencer to shower and dress in something more comfortable. When the genius returned from his room, his hair still wet, he saw the darker agent setting the table while the smell of delicious home cooked meal filled the apartment.

Derek smiled, and soon both men were sitting on the table, enjoying Derek's meal (it was, he said, a recipe he got from his mother… One of his favorites when he was younger), and before he knew, Spencer was crying.

Missouri used to cook for him and his mother like that. She used to talk about how he was too thin and that he needed some meat in his bones. Derek hugged him and allowed him to cry on his shoulder. The two curled up on Spencer's bed, and went to sleep with Derek caressing his hair, as Spencer talked about all the good times he spent with Missouri, of how she was almost like his second parent.

When Spencer woke up the next morning, he realized this was the first time Derek had stayed over… And his


End file.
